God of War Getting a New Prequel!!!

Kotaku: God of War getting another game; God of War: Ghost of Sparta.
Me: WOOT!!!
Kotaku: It's going to be another prequel, following the events after the original God of War.
Me: Dude, awesome!
Kotaku: Its going to explain his past, the tattoo, the scar and his family.
Me: OMGFTWBBQ!!!
Kotaku: Its going to be on the PSP.
Me: Oh......well I'll get it for the story I guess....

Yeah, pretty much just like that. The latest of the God of War series has made its debut: God of War: Ghost of Sparta; following in the footsteps of God of War: Chains of Olympus, it'll be on the PSP and PSP Go. Now, I love portable gaming; I'm a huge Pokemon fan, as well as the Marios, Patapons and all that stuff. I just don't get into mainstream titles that get made for handhelds.

God of War: Chain of Olympus was a great game which I played for hours on end; it remained true to the series, sticking with the story and didn't disappoint in the gore department either. I just didn't like the overall game. To me it didn't capture the essence of Kratos, his power and rage. The controls felt to close together and just didn't go over well with me. I'm used to the dual joystick mayhem of 500-600 combos on the higher up enemies using everything from my blades to my hammer, spear and magics; you just couldn't go ape-shit like you could on the console.

Maybe this new title will redeem how I feel about main titles on handhelds, but even if it doesn't I'll still shell out so I can engross myself in the amazing story telling of God of War.

-Armand

Activision....You Guys Just Suck Now....Seriously

We've all heard about Call of Duty: Black Ops by now. We all know that Treyarch is the one developing it. We also know that Britain tends to get things at a slightly more expensive price tag. We also know that Activision really, really sucks. What does this have to do with anything? Call of Duty: Black Ops that is developed by Treyarch, produced and distributed by Activision and sold all over the world, including the U.K. is going to have a price tag of £55 which is roughly $84.00 at the current exchange rate. Why is it that a game I purchase for a simple $60.00 after taxes is probably $30.00 more after taxes over in the U.K.?

Because Activision sucks. This isn't the first time they've done this though; Modern Warfare 2, the crown jewel of Activision was also set at that price point and....well it sold well. Infinity Ward's titles have always blown up in sales, persons paying to get their hands on a great game; after perusing the net however, people are generally fed up with Activision and I believe this is the beginning of their downfall. I predict that they won't reap nearly as much as they're expecting with this game, over advertise and over price it and will see record loses in their best selling franchise.

But of course...there are the die hard fans of the series that will put out any price to play the game, even if only to return it after the first day. People will pay insane amounts of money for a game, especially one in a series such as Call of Duty. I myself shelled out the $120 for the Prestige Edition of Modern Warfare 2, (as well as the Limited Halo 2, Limited and Legendary Halo 3, Special Edition Halo Wars, Special Edition Halo: ODST in the past), and last week reserved my Legendary Halo: Reach......I'm always willing to shell out for a series that I've put so much time into. Not in this case though. Activision has burned away what little respect I had for them (it drained more and more after Band and DJ Hero), and now I doubt I will even give "Modern Warfare 3" or Black Ops a second glance in the stores.

-Armand

COD: Black-Ops Takes You Globe Trotting...

According to GAME's Website in the UK, Black Ops will take you from Cuba to the Artic to, (yeah, totally called it), Vietnam:

"Now you will witness the birth of the Elite Special Forces and take part in off-the-record missions using unconventional weaponry to get the job done! From Cuba to the Artic and the jungles of Vietnam, Call of Duty: Black Ops features stunning cinematic graphics and intense gameplay that puts you right at the heart of the action!"

Meh....I never really liked games where you have to be covert....one or two missions I can handle but if this game is going to be like Tenchu or something with all the sneaking and stuff, I'm going to pass. If its not like that then I'll give it a second look; for the moment however, I'm writing it off.

-Armand

Oh Hi, Forgot About You...(The Unwanted Studio Has a New Game)

Well, here comes Treyarch! In my opinion, they're capitalizing on Infinity Ward's take on non-WWII and just putting a little more edge on it, (the trailer debuts today, I'll give my thoughts when I see it). But its been accidentally leaked, dated and well, probably going to have some Vietnam in there I'd say; Treyarch does love to beat dead horses.....with mallets and maces....for their last few games....oh well. Hey, if its in Vietnam does that mean I get to kill Vietcong Zombies or something? Maybe its the Cold War days and I get to shoot Mikhail Gorbachev in the dome? Ohhhh the possibilities....

-Armand

Bungie Defends Its Honor

Bungie has put out a statement about their recent (and unexpected) partnership with Activision Blizzard:

"The story of Bungie is wild, winding, and full of majestic wonder. We’ve treaded many pathways over these last nineteen years. But for all the twists and turns we’ve taken, we’re still doing what we set out to do from the beginning, back when the whole of “Bungie Software Products Corporation” consisted of two friends operating out of a basement in Chicago:

Making kick ass games that we want to play."

"And as Bungie has grown, the industry’s best and brightest have been totally accretive to our own creative margins. It’s no secret that while the full might of our studio has focused on making Halo: Reach, another core team, led by our co-founder and Studio Creative Director, Jason Jones, has already begun laying the groundwork to bring our newest universe, stories, and characters to life.

Today, we’re poised to open a new chapter in Bungie’s history—one that begins with a partnership between Bungie and Activision and ends where we always knew it would, with World Domination. Our Next Big Thing now has a concrete path, leading from our studio to the platforms of our choosing. The business formalities are behind us. Our Constitution remains unchanged. We are still Bungie, still independent, and now we are free to bring our stories to an ever bigger audience.

Next up, the most ambitious game we’ve ever made, Halo: Reach. Built upon ten years of experience developing the Halo franchise, we’ve assembled the best team, the best technology, and the best talent to ensure that Reach is the game our fans deserve. Strap in and buckle up tight, we’re sending our baby out with a bang.

Once the smoke clears, all the pieces will finally be in place for Step 7. Don’t worry, though. We won’t let World Domination go to our heads. We’re gonna keep making kick ass games on our own terms, and since you’ve been so supportive throughout the years, we’d love to bring you along for the ride."

I really don't know what's going to come of this but after reading Bungie's message I can't help but feel kind of secure about what they're doing. Oh well....

-Armand

Nerds Sure Can RAAAAAAAAAAAGE!

I've heard some pretty strange nerd-rage stories but I'll be damned if this isn't one of the strangest.

Apparently, a 16-year-old Chilean boy raged all over his 18-year-old brother for simply turning on their PS3 without permission. What makes this even weirder is that the 16-year-old stabbed his brother to death with a kitchen knife.

Yup, seriously. The boy stated that he became "infuriated" when his older brother turned on the console without asking, grabbed a knife from the kitchen and proceeded to stab him in the chest. The teen later told police that "things got out of control." If charges are pressed he'll be put in prison for up to five years.

Seriously...? Its shit like this that makes FOX NEWS and other wackos hate gamers and their games. Seek some counseling; splurge on another console or copy of the game or another control but for the love of Halo stop killing people! Jeez, you'd assume that the PS3 was made specifically for him with a controller that he had calibrated for his psycho little hands.....

People need to get some Ritalin or something man....

-Armand

Bungie Has Gone To The Dark Side....

I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced......Obi Wan was right. It appears that Bungie, (yes, HALO's Bungie), has partnered up with Activision......for 10 years......

According to Bungie's President Harold Ryan - "We chose to partner with Activision on our next IP because of their global reach, multi-platform experience and marketing expertise. From working together over the past nine months on this agreement, it is clear that Activision supports our commitment to giving our fans the best possible gaming experiences."

According to the COO of Activision Blizzard Thomas Tippi - "Today we are very proud to announce a groud breaking ten year partnership between Bungie, one of the greatest developers in the world and the makers of Halo, with Activision, the number one video game publisher, who will bring the new intellectual property to fans worldwide across all platforms.[...] We are always looking for opportunities to bring great games to gamers worldwide; there are very few studios in the world of the caliber of Bungie, with the track record of making games that sell. As such we began discussions with Bungie about nine months ago...."

Bungie isn't making the same mistake as Infinity Ward did however, they plan to stay independent and maintain ownership over this new IP; Activision only gets publishing and distribution rights.

Whatever their new IP is, I hope that the franchise doesn't get boned over in some way by Activision and their greedy ways. I can only hope that Halo: Reach is going to be so amazing that it makes up for the travesty just commited......if I see Bungie's name on a Wii or DS game I will flip out and burn ever copy to a crisp.

I dunno, I'll probably end up getting anything Bungie puts out, Activision or not; here's hopes for Marathon revival!

-Armand

Woot! Ubi's DRM is DEAD!

Yup, that's right folks! Ubisoft's DRM has been cracked and shot and broken by hacker group Skid Row. This came after Ubisoft's controversial DRM addition which rendered your playtime on your game (or even loading the game) useless unless you were connected to the internet. Skid Row alerted other potential hackers (in the readme file for the crack) that they had taken measures to prevent reverse-engineering of their crack as well as taking a potshot at Ubisoft:

"Thank you Ubisoft, this was quite [sic] a challenge for us; but nothing stops the leading force from doing what we do. Next time focus on the game and not on the DRM. It was probably horrible for all legit users. We just make their lives [sic] easier."

Well done Skid Row, I applaud you and your work and I hope Ubisoft listens to you and the thousands outraged by the lack of freedom from a fully paid for game.

-Armand

Its Been A Long Time Coming....(Exodus in Motion) *UPDATE*

*UPDATE* 26. That is the number of talented devs and designers that have taken their leave from Activision's very own prison, Infinity Ward, and have either joined forces with Vince Zampella and Jason West at Respawn, or aren't employed as of yet.

The original seven to join Respawn were:

Todd Alderman - Lead Designer on MW2
Mackey McCandlish - Lead Designer on MW2
Mark Grisby - Lead Animator on MW2
John Paul Messerly - Lead Animator on MW2
Chris Cherubini - Lead Environmentalist on MW2
Rayme C. Vinson - Software Engineer on MW2
Jon Shiring - Programmer on MW2

The latest to jump ship from Infinity Ward are Senior Designers Mohammad Alavi, Chad Grenier and Brent McLeod as well as Programmer Chris Lambert and Jason McCord all last Friday. In addition to them three more left this past weekend: Level Designer Keith Bell, Designer Charlie Wiederhold and Level Designer Preston Glenn.

*UPDATE* Five more people left yesterday: Lead Character Artist Joel Emslie, Weapons Artist Ryan Lastimosa,  Artist Brad Allen, Lead Programmer Robert Field and (not a dev but still important) HR/recruitment specialist Kristin Cotterell.

All I can say is that this is testament to Activision's bad handling of an easily fixable situation; all of this could have been avoided and the people who matter, the Gamers, could've had MW3 in our hands in 2011/12. Now I doubt if the game will be put out and even if it is, if it will be worth it to even rent the game. I'll be checking that Respawn page like a hawk for any changes though, that's for sure...

-Armand

Dividing Up the Problem - Activision Is Digging Their Own Grave

Well we all know that Activision completely boned themselves over, but how much exactly? After the formation of Respawn Entertainment Activision, and seemingly to quell the uprising against them of Infinity Ward’s remaining devs leaving in droves, the company announced through Dan Amrich and his Facebook:

“Vince and Jason had very large bonuses; those bonuses are being redistributed to everybody else, to the people who did not allegedly attempt to steal company secrets. (Please see Activision’s countersuit for details about Vince and Jason’s surreptitious attempts to photocopy and scan sensitive documents.) Activision is not pocketing that bonus money; it’s still going to the people who work at IW. But you have to work at IW to get it, see? :) I don’t want to see talented people screwed out of a paycheck any more than you do.”

Yes the facetious smiley was there as well as the blatant potshot at the devs who’ve already left IW. In my opinion there really was no sensitive document scanning and Activision is pocketing some of the money because they are the ones who determine the bonus size no? What’s to stop them from saying $100,000 is the bonus that was to be shared when it was more likely millions? Either way this entire pot of stew is definitely spoiled and I really hope Activision gets what’s coming to them. I don't think they realize that this entire fiasco started because of these bonuses. They're literally just dividing up their issues and tossing a few bucks to the people who remain at IW. I don't doubt either that the bonus can be revoked if they were to leave and seek employment elsewhere.

-Armand

3D Gaming?

Within the coming months, some families will have their presence graced with a marvelous new toy; a 3D HDTV. Now, the kids, (or adults even) who are even the slightest bit into gaming will most likely wonder: "Hey, I wonder if there are any 3D vidjma-games that you can play?" Well Sony has the answer.

For those of you lucky enough to both own a PS3 and be financially endowed enough to buy a BRAVIA 3D TV you'll be getting a small collection of ready to play 3D games: Wipeout HD, Motorstorm Pacific Rift, PAIN and Super Stardust HD, and you'll get them via voucher code, most likely in the box of said TV, (3D glasses not included.)

Are we really that close to entering this new generation of gaming? (Good/Useable) Motion controllers or lack thereof (NATAL) are getting closer; this holiday to be exact, and 3D TV's capable of 3D gaming? I don't know what to expect but all I know is I'll be so pissed off if I can't connect my good ol' NES to my new BRAVIA.

-Armand

More Infinity Ward Staff Check Out

Yep...more of them. I don't know what to say because I really believe its the right thing for them to get out from under Activision but the gamer in me is saying NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Today Mark Grigsby, the team's Lead Animator, and Paul Messerly, the Lead Character Animator, have both left Infinity Ward. Grigsby had been with the company since 2005 and Messerly had been there since the formation; he worked with Medal of Honor's dev group 2015 Inc. but moved in 2002.

If you don't know off the bat who Mark Grigsby is, think back to Modern Warfare number one. A certain Staff Sergeant Griggs come up? Yeah, Grigsby was the inspiration and voice actor for that character; he also was the one rapping at the end of that game. That's actually probably the only rap song that I own...

More and more devs dropping, Activision, couldn't you part with a few million? You'd have made it back ten-fold when Modern Warfare 3 dropped. Oh well....

-Armand

XboxLive Used to Fight Crime?

XboxLive is the major gaming network in which millions of people can get together, party up and game until the cows come home. A majority of the people on Xbox are, for lack of a better word, strange, but that doesn't mean we're not moral or just! After perusing Kotaku.com, I discovered a couple of articles about gamers who "save the day":

One was very serious involving a possible school shooting that was thwarted by several concerned party members in a game lobby. One of the people, disgruntled by his failing grades as a senior in school spoke very descriptively about fellow schoolmates that he would target when he shot up the school and disconnected suddenly when questioned about it by his fellow party members. Whether he was just messed up and joking or not one Canadian party member in British Columbia alerted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who then investigated and with the help of good ol' Microsoft Law Enforcement, tracked the individual to San Antonio, Texas where he was arrested. Later it was found that he was very serious; intending to get weapons from a friend in the Marines and considered details such as  how long S.W.A.T would take to arrive and had a list of names of people in particular.He also commented that he wanted to be remembered forever. XBL community 1, criminals 0.

Another was....particularly strange, but not uncommon I'm afraid. Apparently 24 year old Ryan E. Donker of Portsmouth, VA admitted to asking for nude pictures from a 13 year old Arkansas boy on multiple occassions. He was extradited to Arkansas under felony charges and $20,000 bond. Apparently Fayetteville Police had recorded several of these conversations where Donker tried to solicit the boy but thanks to the good ol' Xbox he was apprehended and put away for a bit. XBL community 2, crimials 0.

The last one I read was more recent; tampering with a witness. Yeah. People will do anything over XBL it seems. Apparently Anythony Hayward of Hamden, Conneticut was taken in under charges or "tampering with a witness, intimitdating a witness and two counts of second-degree harassment"; all commited through XboxLive messages. "I wouldn't laugh 2 much U a dead man walking" and "Rats die slow" were among the messages sent to a material witness in a case against Hayward  who was out on bail under gun and drug possession charges. He was taken in again and hasn't posted his new bail. XBL community 3, criminals 0.

I think we have a winner!!! At any rate, this shows two things; there are some messed up people on XBL, but there are good people who report things that really really need to be reported. Always be observant and report psychos to the proper authorities; better safe than sorry folks!

-Armand

Yup, More of IW Ditched.....

Yeah that's right. Another four people have dropped from Infinity Ward's staff roster:

Lead Designers Steve Fukuda and Zied Reike have left after being with the company since its founding days working on the Medal of Honor series.

Programmer Rayme Vinson as well as Lead Artist Chris Cherubini have also been confirmed to have left the studio for good.

These are just the latest in the string of devs jumping ship after the canning of studio heads Jason West and Vince Zampella who were fired under acusations from Activision of "delaying production of Modern Warfare 3." I don't know about them but I figure they've got more important issues on their hands.

-Armand

The End of an Era.....(my old Xbox gets put under the bed)....

Well today is the day. Today we begin mourning our beloved original Xboxs and their multiplayer titles; XboxLive will be cut off from them. Microsoft announced it a while ago but I don't know if we're ready to leave games like Halo 2 or Crimson Skies or even good ol' Battlefield 2.

The Xbox made its debut on November 15, 2001 with the game that dropped me onto a ringworld that took my normally casual gaming to a whole new and competitive level, Halo: Combat Evolved. Exactly one year later Microsft introduced the XboxLive subscription service; a way for you to connect and play with or against people from all over the world as well as download new content straight to the harddrive on the console. The first two months up only saw about 250,000 individual subscribers. In July, 2004, Microsoft announced that Xbox Live had reached one million subscribers; in July, 2005, (IMO due to the release of Halo 2) membership reached two million people. As of May 2009 that number has increased to 20,000,000 and is still growing daily. An astounding number of people across the planet are spending their time teaming up with and killing each other via this insanely popular virtual network; everyone in my house has a subscription as a matter of fact.

The bomb was dropped on February 5th, 2010 that on April 15th, 2010, there would be no more XboxLive through original Xboxs or for their games even if played on the Xbox360. 'Tis a sad day for all, a sad day indeed.

As I type this I am in fact gathering my old Xbox games and console for one last hurrah; my copies of Halo/Halo 2, Crimson Skies and Battlefield 2 are going to get played until dawn....or whenever they cut off Live. After that....Halo 2 might come out for campaign nostalgia, but I don't know if I could bear to face it without being able to rip someone to shreds from 50 feet away with a totally bullshit sword swing....ah, the good ol' days....

-Armand

The End of a Great Company?

The "Fall of Duty" as most people now refer to it is getting pretty deep now. It started way back when Activision canned Vince Zampella and Jason West and now has come to more talented devs just up and leaving Infinity Ward.

HERE is a past post I did about why this all started and HERE is the second in the timeline confirming the cause. Where we fall now is definitely turbulent waters for the company that Activision "[looks] forward to continuing work with Infinity Ward's deep bench of proven talent..."

About a month after the initial canning, Infinity Ward lost two more: Todd Alderman who is a Lead Designer for Modern Warfare and Francesco Gigliotti, a Lead Software Engineer.

After this bit, Zampella and West formed Respawn Studios, a company that will own the IPs they create and are working with EA Partners for publishing and distribution. A swift kick in the nads to Activision in my opinion.

After the forming of Respawn Entertainment, Activision made this comment: "This agreement comes as no surprise to Activision given the myriad of improper activities detailed in the cross-complaint filed on Friday against [Zampella and Vince]...." I don't think Vince and Zampella did anything out of bounds and that Activision is seriously off its rocker if they think they'll be able to put out a title like Modern Warfare 3 and have it surpass MW2.

Now we see three people leaving the company at the same time; Programmer Jon Shiring, Senior Animator Bruce Ferriz and Lead Designer Mackey McCandlish are all no longer employed under Infinity Ward/Activision. None of the three have said exactly why they left, nor have they commented on what their next steps are; except for Ferriz who has confirmed to have been picked up by Santa-Monica's Big Red Button Entertainment for an undisclosed project.

With the company's devs all leaving Infinity Ward, I really wonder what's going to happen to one of the best game series' I've ever played; not only the game but the company that consistently put out amazing titles for all to enjoy. I wonder what Activision has to say now.

-Armand

Cliff, you read my mind man....

Well the news has just broke and some of the features I was pining for in Gears of War 3 are a reality. 4 player online co-op campaign!!!! ANYA is a playable character!!! DOUBLE BARREL SHOTGUNS!!!! The Lambent are confirmed even though we knew it was coming for sure. Unconfirmed still are rumors about underwater levels, mech suits and underground traveling explosives. But what is confirmed is the:

RELEASE DATE IS APRIL 5, 2011!!!

Brush off your Gears of War 1 & 2 folks; replay that story, practice your multiplayer and get ready, we've got less than one year until one of gaming's most insane trilogies is completed.

-Armand

Gears of War 3, you're so beautiful.....to me....

Not to sound like another drooling fanboy but....ZOMGOMGOMGOMG GEARS 3 TRAILER!!!!!

Alright, that's out of my system....let me wipe the drool off my mouth and get on with it. I've watched the amazing teaser roughly 23 times now, taking note of what appears to be new features as well as kicks into the story line:
 24*
First I noticed, and what everyone else probably noticed, was that everything was ashen. Literally, the bodies I assumed were oddly placed statues literally turned to dust when touched, or in the trailer's case slammed into. This is more than likely a new plot twist to the already amazing storyline that the Gears of War series has brought to the table. I also noticed that everything was ashen in place; as if it had happened without warning a la Pompeii. A cataclysm maybe? Something the Locust did? Something the humans did in an effort to save themselves?
 26*
Another thing I noticed was good ol' Delta Squad; they've had some upgrades that's for sure. Firstly a new squad-mate!!! Tell me that's not Anya! Marcus is totally getting some and she's killing Locust, sheer awesome. The armor seems a little less bulky in my opinion. Not only was Dom not rocking sleeves, Marcus and the rest of Delta weren't either. It seems that the full body suit is now just the leggings with a vest type upper body cover. Weapons seem to have changed as well. While "Anya" was sporting the typical lancer, you'll notice Dom was handed a rifle with a normal blade for a bayonet; the kind used during the Imulsion Wars where it was human vs. human. Marcus was rocking a "new" double-barreled shotgun (I say new because the barrels were horizontally lined up not vertically) and shot what looked like two separate blasts without cocking it.
29*
On the same note, Delta looks....older. Not literally, as if 10 years had passed but they look tired. Cole is bald and looks more muscular than before and Baird is rocking a cap n' goggles but I couldn't tell more than that. Marcus looks the same as he always has in my opinion; battered, bruised, scarred but never beaten. Dom though, looks more serious than he has in the prior two games. Where his face used to show a joking and optimistic individual now shows someone who seems apathetic and resigned. People who've played the first two games know **SPOILER ALERT** (for those who haven't but will) that Marcus and Dom found Dom's wife deep in the Locust Hollow and Dom did what he had to do and shot her. **END SPOILER ALERT** You even see him in the trailer gaze at a conveniently placed ashen figure of a mother and child as it gets run down by a Locust; he stares it for too long, stares at the Locust as it's about to kill him and just kind of accepts it. When Marcus blasts the creature away Dom winces as if he wished the Locust had killed him.
41*
Also very noticible in the trailer is the Lambent attacking both sides. It makes me wonder if the Locust are really as big a threat as they used to be and if some how the humans would be teaming up with them to exterminate the common threat.
42*
What I hope we'll see in this Gears is a much better multiplayer for one. I want a multiplayer where the Host isn't running around invincible. I want a multiplayer where stopping power on a gun actually works when it should (stopping some chainsaw-happy 8 year old) and when it shouldn't (making you flinch four times in a row after the person shooting you is already dead and you're just standing there unable to move). I also want bigger team choices, up to 8-10 per team would be AMAZING for larger scale fights but still retaining the choices of your typical 5v5 Warzone and such.

Something else I hope we'll see is 4-player (well 5 player now with the looks of the trailer) co-op for Delta Squad's missions. 2 player was great, but there's times when the scale could've been more enjoyable if there were three or four people helping. The Unreal Engine can put out thousands of enemies but can't handle 4 player co-op campaign? C'mon now.
53*

* = # of times I've watched the trailer

-Armand

WTF South Korea?

I am what one would call....a gaming addict. I've played several hundred games and own about that many as well. I've found that there are a lot of people like me in America, we love playing video games and most of the time we're damn good at it. Well, the people in South Korea are so fond of gaming that the government is actually going to begin imposing limits on its underage gamers; a mandatory 6 hour blackout.

The new policy is going to "cut off online gaming" to some relatively well known games such as Maple Story and several others. In full swing the cut will effect roughly 19+ well known Korean games. How does one enforce this type of policy? Simple, if someone is spending lengthy amounts of time on the net, just slow down the internet to the particular household in question until its relatively stalled out.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (the ones organizing this craziness) isn't completely against gaming though. In fact, they're picking and choosing the games that will be part of the cut off; popular MMO Lineage won't be but the games Dungeon & Fighter and Dragon Nest, among others, will be. They're not completely cruel either, the gamers get to choose their cut out time period; midnight to 6 a.m., 1 a.m. to
7 a.m. or 2 a.m. to 8 a.m.

Not a bad idea in my opinion. In all actuallity, if the person has a job or goes to school they're normally sleeping at that time of the night/morning. Even if they aren't, like myself, they normally knock out around 2 and don't get up till 7:30 a.m. for work at 8 or 8:30 leaving really no time to hop online and do anything meaningful. I don't want that to happen Stateside though, I enjoy the occassional super gaming binge where I play from when I get home until work the next day, but at the same time, it would probably help me sleep if I couldn't play anything on the internet....there's always C&C Generals campaign though.

-Armand

iPhone OS 4.0....so many win...

Over a hundred new features. That's what Steve Jobs said when he began talking about the iPhone's new OS coming this summer (this fall for the iPad). After scouring his hour long presentation twice I finally found out the most deserving items to outline and discuss.

There are going to be several past-due improvements:

For the camera: We're going to see a 5x-digital zoom for picture taking as well as tapping to focus during video-taking. We'll also see places tagged in pictures you take; i.e. Taking a picture in Tokyo, Japan will be tagged as having been taken in Tokyo, Japan.

There will be the ability to gift apps to other people

FINALLY be able to change the Home Screen background
The ability to hook up a bluetooth keyboard and on the same note as typing there will be a spell-checking feature.

Now with those minor features spoken for, let's get to the main part of the presentation: The Seven Tentpoles. These are to represent the biggest innovations and changes to the physical OS:

Tentpole #1: Multitasking - That's right folks. Multitasking.

1.      Double clicking the Home button is what is used to bring up the multitasking dock

·         Boasts less battery consumption

·         No "sluggishness" when switching apps

·         Allows for Task Completion; i.e. Flickr app takes a long time to upload pictures; now you can go to a different app while that task finishes without interrupting it.

·         Fast App Switching leaves the app you were just in at its exact position; i.e. you won't lose progress in games or apps such as Tap Tap Revenge.

2.      Background Audio

·         Distilled the 3^rd party services used to make music apps like Pandora and made them party of the OS.

·         Will be able to run Pandora while using other apps

·         Will be able to run Pandora in “iPod mode” when your phone is locked.

3.      Voice-over IP

·         Skype used to have to be on the whole time for you to make and receive calls; now you can receive calls while doing other things

·         Shows up as a red call bar (green for normal phone)

·         Calls come in even when phone is locked

4.       Background Notifications

·         Using apps like Tom Tom normally require you to have them open so you get their notifications but now you get them even when you’re using another app.

 Tentpole #2: FOLDERS!!! - Yay!

1. Organize your apps

·         Press on an app as if to move it, drag it on top of another app and it creates a folder.

·         Folders auto name based on contents but you can rename them

2.      Expands number of viewable apps

·          If every space on every page was taken by a folder, you could increase the number of viewable apps from 180 to 2,160.

Tentpole #3: Enhanced Mail

1.      Unified inbox for multiple email accounts

·         Quickly move between different inboxes if you don’t unify them

2.       Open attachments with apps

3.       Organize messages in thread form instead of individual messages

Tentpole #4: iBooks!

1.      Same UI as the iPad

2.      Same iBook store as the iPad

·         Buy once, read through all devices

·         Syncs pages and bookmarks

Tentpole #5: Enterprise

1.      80% of Fortune 100 Companies use iPhone/iPad for business.

·         Encryption for email

·         Mobile device management

·         Wireless app distribution

·         Multiple Exchange accounts

·         Compatibility with Exchange Server 2010 and SSL VPN

Tentpole #6: GAME CENTER!!! - XBL Arcade for Apple?

1.      More than 50,000 individual game titles for the iPhone/iPad

·         Normally connected through services like OpenFeint and Plus+ gamers don’t really have a set matchmaking system or leaderboards.

2.       Social Gaming Network

·         Invite friends

·         Matchmaking

·         Leaderboards

·         ACHIEVEMENTS!!!

·         Only a “preview” during OS 4; more supposed to arrive later

Tentpole #7: iAd: Not a bad idea IMO

1. Mobile Advertising facts

·         Avg. user spends roughly 30 minutes in apps a day.

·         Based on the number of apps downloaded and individual users there are about 1 Billion ad impressions daily

·         Helps devs with making money on “free” or cheap apps

·         iAd will give Devs up to 60% of revenue.

2.  Mobile Advertising on a whole new level

·         Normally ads in apps are bland and take you away from your current task in a game or place in a news feed.

·         Now ads will be built to keep you in your place in the app

·         Will have more interactivity; i.e. downloads or sound bits

·         Will have more “emotion” than a typical plain text web ad

·         Will be in HTML 5 so videos will be embedded in the ads as well

3.  Bought out mobile ad company Quattro: “We are thrilled to let you know that Apple has acquired Quattro.” – Quattrowireless.com

Well thats about it for what was revealed at the conference. Also you should note that if you have an iPhone 3G or the original as well as the iPod Touch 2nd Gen or the original you won't be seeing all of these features due to the device's capabilities. So sad....oh well I get 'em all!!! I can't wait to multitask changing my background while playing EliminatePro while listening to Pandora while ignoring Skype calls while clicking a new movie ad and using that picture as my background. WOOT!

-Armand