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 BioShock 2 Q&A With the Developers
Saturday, February 06, 2010
We recently had a chance to be part of a group discussion with the developers of Bioshock 2, who answered our questions about their highly anticipated shooter.
What was the biggest challenge in making Bioshock 2?
It's that Bioshock 1 was so well received (laughs). Had to build a team from scratch. Building out the team was mentally challenging, and going up against our own expectiations. It is odd and humbled to be working on a game that everyone is enthusiastic about.
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 ThermalTake 750W TR2 RX Power Supply Review
Friday, February 05, 2010
Ah, the heartbeat of the machine. The driving force that sends every pulse of electricity and every turn of the fan. The most important part of the computer and the most dangerous part are one. I’m talking about the power supply. Without it, every other part of your computer is just a bunch of silicon, wire, and metal sitting in a box. It must be reliable, it must be powerful, and it must look good. Well, that’s the consensus these days, isn’t it?
Thermaltake has tossed us another bone with the TR2 RX 750-Watt power supply. It looks great, its 750 watts strong, and today I’ll find out how reliable it is. Thermaltake doesn’t disappoint very often, and I have high hopes for this particular piece of hardware. I’m going to be testing it on my usual testing rig, a 2.9Ghz Athlon 64 X2 dual core with 2GB of 800Mhz RAM. I also have six 120mm case fans all running at once, two DVD-RW drives, two SATA HDDs
, and an ATI 4870 video card. Normally, this setup would warrant at least a 500W power supply, so the TR2 should have no trouble keeping up.
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 OCZ Sabre OLED Gaming Keyboard Review
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Do you remember that complicated programs used to come with "keyboard overlays". I remember the old WordPerfect function key overlays, which were really more of a reference-sheet than a quick guide. Complex games with lots of functions (like MMOs) had keyboard overlays, and some keyboards like the Z-board had custom skins for popular games. If you could change the key to be an icon then there would be no need to memorize which command corresponded to which key.
Entering the customizble keyboard scene is OCZ with their OLED Gaming keyboard. While it can't change hard-coded letter keys, it does combine the best of both worlds by combining a standard gaming keyboard with a customizable OLED keypad. Using such a keypad allows you to dynamically update the key label on-the-fly depending on the application or game you're running.
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 NitroX iConn+ Battery Case for iPhone Review
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
There are several battery packs available for the iPhone, all with their strengths and weaknesses. Some devices are "generic" and are meant to be used to charge any USB device, but these require one to carry the appropriate USB charge cable. Others are "emergency power" only and are very small and dangle precariously at the bottom of the iPhone. Most people don't want to carry a bunch of extra gadgets and would prefer an integrated battery solution. NitroX agrees and have released their iConn Plus iPhone case with integrated battery power.
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 NitroX X835 Bluetooth Handsfree Kit Review
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Cell phones are practically ubiquotous in today's modern society. A natural response to new technology are laws to make that technology safer. Most people use their cell phone as an extension of their physical being, and as such talk and text in the car, which have caused many unnecessary accidents. It is not advisable to talk on the phone while driving at all, but if you must then a Bluetooth handsfree device is the way to go.
Bluetooth handsfree car kits have been around for a while. You would think they would have fairly straightforward features such as a good speakerphone, noise cancellation, caller ID, and overall intelligence, but many of them do not. Thankfully NitroX enters the fray and stands out from the crowd with their X835 handsfree kit.
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Which SuperBowl Ads Were the Best?
The results are based on volunteers who chart their second-by-second reactions to national Super Bowl commercials. Volunteers use hand-held meters to register how much they liked or disliked an ad while a computer averages the scores continuously. USA TODAY created the Super Bowl Ad Meter in 1989 to gauge consumers' opinions about TV's most expensive commercials.
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17 Rules for Safer Social Networks
Online Social Networking Sites (SNSs) have had an exceptional growth trend on Internet. 211Mn users (out of 283 Mn) in Europe use SNS, and, primarily, Facebook in 11/17 countries studied. The modern way of staying in touch with business or personal contacts is through SNS and other digital tools. Consequently, the ways people meet, share opinions, communicate information and ideas is changing. With growing popularity of SNS, the demand for instant, continuous access over the mobile phone has increased-i.e. mobile social networks (MSN). More than 65 Mn users now access the social network Facebook over their mobile device. MSN users are 50% more active than non-mobile users, and are estimated to be 134 Mn in Europe by 2012.
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Kingston SSDNow V+ 128GB Solid State Disk
Techware Labs ::
We were once skeptical on whether or not SSD's would ever truly beat the performance of the HDD. Now-a-days we wonder why we ever thought that. Here to prove why is the Kingston SSDNow V+ series 128GB SSD. Join us as we match it up against the best of the best in the HDD market, the VelociRaptor. Will this SSD stand up to the challenge? You be the judge...
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Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB SATA 6Gbps Solid State Disk
Tweak Town ::
"At this point do we really even need an intro for the Crucial RealSSD C300? For months Crucial has taunted us with videos, screen shots and snippets of information. At Storage Visions just days before CES we met with Crucial and they were waving a drive around; our eyes were like a dog fixated on its master swinging around a fresh piece of bacon. You can look, you can touch, you can take pictures but you can’t plug it in. Damn it man, stop with the cruelty!
Today Crucial finally let a RealSSD C300 out of their grasp and somehow we managed to have it land on our doorstep. The RealSSD C300 uses Marvell’s new SATA 6Gbps solid state drive controller, the first of its kind. Crucial took Marvell’s hardware and let Crucial engineers produce the firmware for the drive."
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Cisco Announces Upcoming Events With the Financial Community
Cisco, Cisco Systems, and the Cisco Systems logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and used by them or by affiliates under license in certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. This document is Cisco Public Information.
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USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps Tested On Gigabyte P55A-UD6
Madshrimps ::
A couple of motherboard manufacturers are now including SATA 6Gbps and USB 3.0 chips on their motherboards. In this to the point article, we take look at the performance for SATA 6Gbps and USB 3.0 compared with their predecessors.
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Arctic Cooling Accelero XTREME 4870X2 VGA Cooler
PC Shop Talk ::
"The card with the best performance from AMD from the previous generation, the ATI RADEON 4870X2 has a very noisy stock cooling cooling system. Surprisingly, not a lot of custom VGA coolers appeared for it. Arctic Cooling thought a lot of us, the 4870X2 users and released the Accelero XTREME 4870X2 after a very big delay. Will this custom cooling be as great as it says on the package? We will see later in this review."
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Phenom II X4 for $99: Unlocking the X2 555 BE
Pure Overclock ::
“How does a full-featured Phenom II X4 CPU for $99 sound? AMD's new dual core hotrod, the X2 555 BE, is actually an X4 in disguise and just needs a bit of help to unlock those two extra cores for all the performance goodness you can dream about at bargain prices. We successfully unlocked the X2 555 BE and we'll tell you how today and show the resulting performance increase.”
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Intel Core i5 661 Dual Core LGA 1156 Processor Review
Think Computers ::
“For 2010, Intel has introduced a new line of processors code named “Clarkdale”, and will be known as the Core i5 600 series. At this point there are four processors in this series, the 650, the 660, the 670, and the 661. Today I will be looking at the Intel Core i5 661, a dual core LGA 1156 processor built in the 32nm process, with on-die video processing. This should make it a natural for HTPC and non-gaming rigs. How will the i5 661 fare with this geek who has had the honor of reviewing some of the most powerful video cards in the world? Read on to see!"
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Ultra X4 1600 Watt Full Modular Power Supply
Tweak Town ::
"Power supplies are important and often overlooked components. Ultra Products understands that case-proud PC enthusiasts do not overlook the PSU. In fact, hard-core hardware geeks demand not just performance, but style to complement not just their ass kicking hardware, but their beautifully lit cases. Thus, Ultra has released the new X4 Series in a range of wattages starting at 500 watts. The model we are taking to task in this review is the totally modular 1600-watt version.
This block of power weighs a respectable 15 pounds, measures 240mm x 150mm X 87mm and features a 135mm fan. And, it is 80 Plus Certified. One note about the 1600-watt rating; this PSU is rated at 1600 watts when connected to a 20-amp plug using the special 120 volt 20 AMP cable (included). When you use the included 120 volt 15 AMP cord to connect to a typical outlet, the PSU operates at 1200 watts."
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Arsenal of Democracy set for February 23rd
Arsenal of Democracy was developed by BL-Logic, a team comprised of passionate fans of the Paradox’s landmark Hearts of Iron series. The game takes players to World War II with total economic, diplomatic and military control over the nation of their choosing, giving them the chance to rewrite history and change the course of history’s greatest global conflict. Arsenal of Democracy offers players unparalleled historical detail alongside the most in-depth and realistic representation of the multitude of challenges faced by the leaders of the time.
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Just Cause 2 'Freedom and Chaos' Trailer Explodes Panau Into Pieces
With over 400 square miles of some of the most incredible gameplay locations ever seen, Just Cause 2 gives you the freedom to take on the world in more ways than you can possibly imagine. Freedom to decide where to go: snow-topped mountain ski resorts, sun-kissed tropical beaches, beached oil tankers in the middle of a desert, floating brothels or lost Japanese WWII soldiers on ‘skull’ island.
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Armored Core: Silent Line Portable Delivers Giant Mech Battles to the PlayStation Network
FromSoftware announced today that Armored Core: Silent Line Portable, the latest installment of its popular mecha action game franchise, is now available on the North American PlayStation Network. In this futuristic third-person shooter, players resume the role of a Raven, a mercenary who pilots a giant flying mech known as Armored Core. After tailoring the weapon loadout and vehicle propulsion system for the mission at hand, Raven engages in ferocious battles with other mechs across a variety of futuristic landscapes. With lightning-quick combat and slick, anime graphics, this is a strong entry in the Armored Core legacy.
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Gamebook Adventures unveiled by a deadly assassin
A cold-blooded assassin has been unleashed upon the iPhone and iPod Touch today as the first interactive book in the Gamebook Adventures series is launched. Tin Man Games has announced that An Assassin in Orlandes, the first in a collection of completely original interactive fantasy gamebooks, is now available to download from the App Store.
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2009 Mod of the Year Awards
From now until Feb 20th, we shall be sharing a year in review and showcasing the editors' picks of 2009, culminating in the announcement of this year's best mod and game as voted by you. The top mods and games will win the honors of being placed alongside other projects that have gone on to become commercial successes and cement their place in ModDB's hall of fame. And to the winner goes the spoils; ModDB has teamed up with a whole lineup of sponsors that have provided prizes ranging from software to servers to beanbags. Everything to help budding developers excel at their craft.
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Age of Zombies Announced for PS3 and PSP
There’s no denying it. Zombie games make money. No one has anything against a good zombie game really, it’s just that there’s a lot of them. So we needed to try something different. We didn’t want to kill zombies in the usual way. We didn’t want to survive a deadly undead army in the ruins of some scary-ass town. We wanted to travel through time and shoot zombie dinosaurs and mummies and junk. So, we created Age of Zombies!
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Extreme Hangman for Nintendo DS
There's never been a Hangman game like this before! The world's favorite time-killer game takes an absurdist twist of comical proportions. Taking place in various settings, the gamer's mission is to save the Hangman from his enemies by guessing the hidden word correctly. By guessing incorrectly, he is put one step closer to being shot, strangled, erased, or hanged by his enemies. Extreme Hangman features seven different settings with fun animations, over 2000 words in various categories, and three difficulty levels.
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Rise of the Triad for iPhone
The classic first person shooter game, Rise of the Triad, will soon be available for download at the App Store for all iPhone OS platforms, including the Apple iPod touch and Apple iPad. Mobila Interactive, LLC, a company specializing in creating applications for the mobile world, and Apogee Software, LLC, the legendary publisher that helped create the first-person-shooter genre, have partnered to bring this classic to Apple iPhone, Apple iPod touch, and future Apple iPad users.
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Ninja Blade for PC Goes Gold
Iceberg Interactive CEO Erik Schreuder says: "With Ninja Blade, gamers will enjoy an adrenaline pumping game that combines immersive arcade ninja action, stunning graphics and a captivating storyline. While Ninja Blade was released online some weeks ago, we have jointly continued to work on the retail goldmaster and made some adjustments. The game can be played with a keyboard and also with a controller, copying that console experience but with top-notch PC graphics. We're very excited to finally see the game being shipped to retail shelves and any fan of anime, manga, ninja or just insanely quick fighting action, should check it out."
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Free Realms Friends 8 Million Players
“Free Realms is more than just a virtual world for our players; it is a portal for imagination. A place where players transform their house into a jumping maze for friends to compete or a petting zoo that boasts all their pets,” said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment. “Our job as developers is to listen to and predict what they want and give them the tools that inspire and compel them to share their experiences with eight million others.”
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Active Media Products Debuts MotKey Key Shaped USB Drive
Styled after a car key, this key drive will blend in on any keyring while accommodating up to 8GB of data. "The MotKey is shock- and scratch-resistant, and will look cool on any keychain", commented Active Media Products' VP of Sales, Jerry Thomson. This product is compatible with Windows, Linux and OS X. It measures just 2.9 x 1.2 x 0.5 inches (73 x 30 x 13 mm). AMP includes a keyring and cord with the MotKey.
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Scosche solCHAT II – Solar Powered Bluetooth Speakerphone
Test Freaks ::
" Today for review I’ve got a green accessory for your cell phone to make you life a bit easier maybe. If you’re into using a speakerphone while driving then the Scosche solCHAT II might be right up your alley, it’s nicely made, loud and easy to use. It even talks to you in a sort of sexy female computer generated voice to guide you through pairing, usage and she can even let you know who’s calling by name."
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Movenda and RealVNC launch complete solution for remote management of mobile handsets
Movenda, a leading remote management platform provider has announced the latest version of its Mecum, remote management system that integrates VNC Mobile Solution from RealVNC, an innovator of advanced cross-platform remote control solutions. Both companies will be featuring the new solution at next week’s Mobile World Congress 2010, in Barcelona (Stands 2B06 & 2J69 in Hall 2)
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18MP, 1080p HD Movies, ISO 6400: Canon redefines the boundaries of the consumer DSLR with the EOS 550D
The EOS 550D redefines the boundaries of Canon’s consumer DSLR range, incorporating technologies and features more commonly found in semi-professional DSLRs into the compact, lightweight body favoured by consumers. With a newly-developed 18 Megapixel (MP) APS-C CMOS sensor, coupled with Canon’s advanced DIGIC 4 image processor and the ability to shoot Full HD Movies, photography enthusiasts are empowered to explore new levels of creativity.
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Epic saga of the future
The game is turn based tactic game that will redefine whole tactic games genre with its casual, story-driven approach and easy click&shoot interface. “We wanted to make tactic game that will be easy to pick and play by anyone, in a short burst of 2-3 minutes per game, while offering enough in-depth complexity to play for hours” says Peter Bielatowicz, lead designer of the game.
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Samsung PN58B850 58 inch Plasma TV Review
Tweaknews ::
"No longer will you have to worry about ghosting artifacts and you can watch any action movie or sports game and feel like you are really there. Although LCD models may try to mimic the fluid playback a plasma TV brings to the table, they can't hold a candle to plasma technology even today."
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MSI N240GT-MD512 OC/D5
Bjorn 3d ::
As the worlds patiently awaits NVIDIA Fermi which is aimed to challenge the ATI Radeon HD 5870, the graphics giant is not sitting idling. In fact, NVIDIA has been busying updating their existing lineup. NVIDIA has revamped the entire graphics line up to the 200 series.
Although many people may think that NVIDIA simply “recycles” their old cards and rebrand the name, the reality is that the latest line of the 200 series graphic cards actually packs some feature upgrades. The latest GT 240 from NVIDIA is manufactured with the 40nm processing technology that will ensure the card runs cooler than previous generation of cards. Not only that the card runs cooler, it also consumes less power. As a result, the GT 240 draws power directly from the PCI Express slot and does not need any auxiliary power. This is good news for those who wish to upgrade their system without spending extra money on a power supply.
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Scosche solCHAT II – Solar Powered Bluetooth Speakerphone
Test Freaks ::
" Today for review I’ve got a green accessory for your cell phone to make you life a bit easier maybe. If you’re into using a speakerphone while driving then the Scosche solCHAT II might be right up your alley, it’s nicely made, loud and easy to use. It even talks to you in a sort of sexy female computer generated voice to guide you through pairing, usage and she can even let you know who’s calling by name."
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Win an NVIDIA 3D Vision Bundle!
Techgage ::
The term "3D" can be seen all over, and for good reason. Both software and hardware companies are beginning to deliver the goods to increase the immersion for our games, movies and even images. But, we're curious to see just how important this whole 3D aspect is to you. Answer three simple questions, and you could win an NVIDIA 3D Vision bundle!
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ASUS ENGT240 Review
Overclockers Club ::
"The cooling solution that was on the ASUS ENGT240 did its job quite well - the highest that I saw the card get was 64°C during all the testing, which is not very high for a video card operating at 630MHz on the GPU and running through all these benchmarks back-to-back. I do like the fact that the ENGT240 does get all the power that it needs from the motherboard's PCI-E slot - there are no extra power adapters that need to be plugged into the video card."
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