(1 votes, average: 4 out of 5)
Loading ...Penumbra is FPS, paranormal thriller that promises a mind numbing, and bone-chilling experience. The main protagonist Philip gets a letter, from his long proclaimed dead father. He gets a few notebooks with indecipherable notes with a map of Greenland. Philip heads off on a wild goose chase straight from his ship to Greenland into a blizzard, into a creepy crawly mine filled with wild dogs and spiders lurking in dangerous corridors. The game is very real in some aspects, and like Fahrenheit it has tried to take the involvement of the gamer to a whole new level. Gameplay revolves around object manipulation, where one has to click and drag the mouse in the proper direction to go along with it. Hence the player feels more “involved” in the game, then the standard click-action technique. This has allowed the developers to create puzzles involving the creative handling of objects, like hooking a stray metal rod into a socket to create a lever, picking up rocks to smash frozen icicles over pathways or using rolling barrels as offense or defense. The environment compliments the game’s overall mood, the mineshaft totally dark, with lots of empty barrels and squeaky floorboards, rows of empty shelves with broken floorboards littered on the ground. Hand-to-hand combat is done with a hammer or a two-by-four with the same interaction technique. Here the designers somehow manage to mess up, the camera angle gets locked while holding the mouse button but that doesn’t affect the opponent who happily dances out of reach. Not something which signifies the end of the world but little things like these tend to ruin the game experience. The game is more about finding alternatives to direct conflict with the enemy. They seemed to have taken a leaf out of Leonardo Da Vinci’s book and applied his sfumato technique that is to blurify things to good use here. The black and white backdrops, or sepia terrains coupled with fuzzy blurry objects will make the player dread every step. The ambience is in perfect harmony with the game, from the squeaky floorboards to the growling of the dogs and the shuffling of the spiders in corners. The drums and piano underscore encapsulates the mood each time contact is made with an NPC further heightening the adrenalin. Following the recent episodic trend, total length of the game is quite short; some additional side stories would have done the game good. The new concept of moving the mouse for object interaction although is commendable, but not very practical as for that one needs quite some elbowroom. However there is a tweak to enable save games but one has to dig into the configuration files to do so. The game requires a heavy duty PC to play it in maximum settings, but what counts is that the game does have what it takes to compete with the best.
Archive for August, 2007
The game picks up from where it left off in the previous part, with the Halo ring destroyed the Master Chief Space Marine goes back to Earth and gets welcomed back like a celebrated war hero. On the other hand in the Covenant race the alien Arbit responsible for the safety of the Holy Halo, which was supposed, to take them “on the great journey” was brought to trial and the stripped off his rank, armor for not fulfilling his duty. Now it seems that they found another Halo called Delta Halo and are determined to make their great journey on that. Coupled with a retributional strike on Earth the game Halo 2 is born. One gets to play as the Master Chief as well a Covenant Arbit therefore seeing both sides of the coin. There also seems to be political trouble in between the ranks of the Covent leaders so one sees them facing off against each other. The game engine isn’t very good because the system requirements are high yet it provides the same graphics as the original Halo .The textures used in the previous Halo give the environment a good feel, but it seems the makers were content on not changing it at all. In comparison to modern FPS shooters it lags way behind. It can run on Microsoft XP as well, using patches that are easily available on the Internet. The gameplay is almost identical to previous version with the exception of dual wielding of weapons, which was not an available feature before, aside from that everything gives the player a sense of deja vu. All the weaponry of both the humans and Covenants are same as well as the war vehicles such as the Warthog, Ghost, Wraith, etc. At the most there may be an addition of one oar two new enemy soldiers just to give the game the sense of being different form the original Halo. The new Covenant perspective of the game is quite interesting. The alien armor has the camouflage capability, which renders the wearer invisible for a few seconds very handy in creeping up behind enemies’ unseen or getting out of tight spots. The ambience of the game comes as no surprise because it basically is taken from the old Halo, except for the starting theme song and pretty groovy one at that. The high-pitched shrieks of the little dwarfish aliens and the bass voice of the elites are exactly as they were before. The combat music is also in tandem with the game hence the player never feels it going out of place according to the situation. It seems though as if this version of Halo was meant for multiplayer gaming. As there is a lot of improvement in that section of the game. One sees the presence of 23 different maps for it. Including different modes like party mode, shotty snipers, etc. each mode has its own characteristics, for instance the shotty sniper has each player given a sniper and shotgun while all the other weaponry is locked. It supports upto 16 players per one gaming session.
While playing the game, press [Enter] and type one of following codes to activate the corresponding cheat function:
| Result | Cheat Code |
| Instant building | steroids |
| Win scenario | home run |
| Kill player | kill[player’s position 1-8] |
| Rocket launcher car | bigdaddy |
| Everyone dies | diediedie |
| Resign game | resign |
| Full map | reveal map |
| 1000 food | pepperoni pizza |
| 1000 gold | coinage |
| 1000 wood | woodstock |
| 1000 stone | quarry |
| Remove Fog of War | no fog |
| Transform villagers [Note 1] | medusa |
| Laser gunner [Note 2] | photon man |
| Animal control | gaia |
| Juggernauts may move on land | flying dutchman |
| Increased catapult range and effect | big bertha |
| Priest 600 hit points, speed 6 | hoyohoyo |
| Increased ballista range | icbm |
| Catapults fire peasants [Note 3] | jack be nimble |
| Stealth archer, dressed as tree when still | dark rain |
| Turn horse archers into black riders | black rider |
| Nuclear missile trooper | e=mc2 trooper |
| Commit suicide | hari kari |
After enabling this cheat, move one of the villagers into an opponent. He or she will transform into a Black Rider after death. The Black Rider will transform into a Heavy Catapult after it dies.
Enable this code after establishing your Empire and clicking on the center of a town.Enable this code after a catapult is selected.Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo when released the consoles namely Playstation, Xbox, etc. made some security enhancements, which would not allow a pirated CD to run. However our modders undeterred in the least, found out ways to override that particular sequence. The reason these people are called modders, is that they develop or install a modification chip, which renders the console incapable of distinguishing between a pirated CD and an original CD. Recently the third generation of the consoles, namely PS3, Xbox 360 has shown themselves to be difficult nuts to crack. Until now only the Wii mod chip was developed. After such a long time Nintendo has taken strict measures against its pirated disc and mod chips. In collaboration with the US Department of Investigation and Immigration they have started investigating the sale of pirated CDs and mod chips. They are right on there on own grounds for wanting to put an end to piracy, which causes them a most distressingly large monetary loss, an estimated $762 million in sales in 2006 only. To stop that, Nintendo and the US government have taken up harsh measures against piracy. Surprisingly one observes a total lack of interest from the Sony and Microsoft Corporation, which have been suffering under similar conditions, that’s because both of the corporations have devised their own way of combating piracy of their products. Microsoft uses the Xbox Live technique in which each player has to sign in with individual given keys, which are recorded by the system, with the MAC ID hence omitting the chances of multiple users using single keys. Sony has employed the Blue Ray technology, which is causing the modder’s hair to turn gray. So the only company currently suffering under the yoke of piracy is Nintendo, they have decided to combat it in a very severe way one that would give anyone a reason to think twice before installing mod chips. Recently they apprehended a techie responsible for installing mod chips in Wii consoles. Aside from striping away most of worldly belongings he is forbidden to see family, his own words “I have NOTHING of any worth anymore, other than a computer monitor, and my car. Because of what happened I’m not allowed to see my girlfriend and our 4 month old daughter, and last night, I slept in my car and my girlfriend sent me a text message telling me it felt like someone was taking me away from her. They took my life away…” So far the officials have issued 32 warrants and seized a staggering amount of 91,000 Wii pirated discs globally. No doubt this is just the tip of the iceberg. Nintendo also needs to understand that stopping only the tech junkies won’t put a stop to this crime but they will have to root out each of the individual elaborate networks that work with them, that keep the wheels of this intricate machinery slick and well-oiled. The third world countries have the proper market for these CDs because the people there can’t afford to buy original CDs. So aside from rooting out piracy they should start lowering their prices so that buy a new CD does not cost as much as a buying a new car.
The history of the CD is quite interesting when taken a cursory look through. The origin began with the “punch card”. Later assuming the shape of floppy disk, magnetic tape and the most recent form an optical disk more commonly known as the CD. In each stage, it began to attain the ability to store more and more data from a mere 7KB (kilobytes) to the 4GB DVD. Now its time for us to kiss DVD goodbye for not one but two heirs are standing on the doorstep waiting to replace it the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. Like the traditional fight between two brothers for a throne, the struggle between these two Titans is all the rage now. HD-DVD, which stands for High-Definition DVD, is a high-density optical disc format designed for the storage of data and high-definition video. Developed by the joint collaboration between Toshiba and NEC, they aim to replace to the normal DVD with the HD-DVD. It has the ability to store 15GB per layer that is 3 times as much as the original DVD. Its comes with dual layer as well hence increasing its size limit upto 30GB. When used the dual layer on the double side it increase upto 60GB. The HD-DVD has been implemented in the Microsoft Xbox360. Its rival on the other hand, Blu-ray Disc, (also called BD) is a high-density optical disc format for the storage of digital media, including high-definition video. It has the ability to store upto 25GB per layer. Also comes with dual layer option which boosts the memory space upto 50GB. The double dual layer shoots the space upto 100GB. The funky sounding name Blu-Ray has been derived from the blue-violet laser used to read and write this type of disc. Its was developed by Sony and its implementation is done in the Sony Playstation3. Aside from baffeling the crackers, who have been desperately trying to crack the Blu-Ray technology and have failed, seems as it’s the more capable of the two brothers. Aside form the implementation in the consoles, these disks have also been used for storing movies. Adam Sandlers Click was the first ever Blu-Ray disc released in October10,2006. While the HD-DVDs were out before the 2006. The writer for HD-DVD was on 31st March 2006 in Japan at a price of $934, while the Blu-Ray wasOn December 4th 2006 Sony launched their first stand-alone player at a price of $1000. The major factor for it being superior is the extra 10 GB disk space in the basic single layer of both the new DVDs. When a raw comparision was made,it was found out that the Blu-Ray technology was beating HD-DVD at almost evey step. A recent comparision between the sales market of both these two competitors revealed that for every single HD-DVD sold, two of the Blu-Ray were sold. Hence Blu-Ray is defeating its opponent, on the ratio of 2:1. So its seems that with the beginning of a computing era soon the DVDs shall b replaced by the Blu-Ray.
Wikipedia.org has proven itself to be more successful then any encyclopedia in the world, Encarta, Britannica, and many others. Why? The single reason for its success is that it is free. Its motto is “For the people, by the people.” The online encyclopedia is open for edition to anyone in the whole world. In this way different people all over the world congregate and put together the information on Wikipedia. Now in such an open-ended information chest the chances of credibility of articles are somewhat minimized. Now recent investigations have revealed several startling news. Reputed companies like Sony and Nintendo were caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
An IP address traced back to Sony was responsible for deleting several articles related to Everquest in order to remove controversies and alleged charges against it. The deletion was a single paragraph refering to a St. Petersburg Times article about a man sentenced to 15 years in prison for fracturing his 9-month-old son’s ribs and leaving the child in a utility closet to die of a punctured heart while he played EverQuest.
Shocking news, though not entirely of the fault of the developer,, nevertheless does the reputation harm. Nintendo was caught deleting a paragraph proclaiming that the earlier and later versions of Gamecube were prone to disc errors. Another report of an IP owned by the Entertainment Software Association had “edited” the entries for modchips and Abandon Ware Site home of the Underdogs. “The modchip edit truncated a section describing the legality of modchips in the US as “ambiguous,” instead flatly stating that they are illegal because of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The omitted text also mentioned the creation of mod chips, that would allow users to play legally purchased imported games, but still prevent the use of pirated, burned game discs.” And while in the Underdogs case the description of site’s “illustrious career” was simply changed to read “illegal career.” Amusing and seemingly childish, these however do have serious impacts upon the millions of people reading about the company’s seemingly “Illegal career”. These are just the external people responsible for devious schemes. The Wiki staff also isn’t saintly either. Small random and inconsequential information has been seen sifting about. Last but not the least, one edit traced back to an industry trade group who had added reference to a pornographic Web site to the entry for GameSpot’s sister site GameFAQs.”
Now after the recent edition of Command & Conquer3 Tiberium Wars Westwood has decided to follow the tradition of launching expansions. The century old combat between the two human races GDI and NOD, later join by the Scrin into the third war has been the talk of the town right from its initial launch. The current expansion is called Kane’s Wrath. Naturally as the name suggests, the entire expansion pack is focused on Kane. “It chronicles his rise back to power after the second Tiberium War and continues all the way through C&C3.” No stranger to the C&C fans, Kane in fact is one of the most popular villainous characters ever. Played by Joe Kucan who looks as though he was born to be Kane. He fits in his role like glove and has with outstanding acting in the game play videos won the hearts of millions of NOD supporters worldwide. Now with this expansion, Westwood attempts to use Kane as a mascot and launch its expansion on its back. It shall cover the previous 2 wars as well the current third one. Aside from Joe, the fans have been promised other equally dazzling new characters. The expansion shall be based on the theme “World Domination” Kane’s favorite past time. This title is due for release only on the PC and Xbox360. As with all the new expansions it promises a whole variety of structures, units and creatures. Also adding another spice to the game is the promise of the further division of the three main groups into two factions even having unique abilities that make it each a deadly force to be reckoned. Aside from being the real-time strategy game like its predecessors, it shall delve into tactical real-time combat on the battlefield. “An expansion pack felt like the right next step for us. We have a great story to tell, one that builds on the foundation established in Command & Conquer 3 and in previous games.” Indeed and the proof of its greatness is loyalty of the throngs of C&C3 fan worldwide. The multiplayer aspect of the game also has it’s own charm as well. From the traditional limited choice of two to three factions, the dramatical increase, to nine choices for the players has opened up an infinite world of possibilities. Using different combinations the players can come up with interesting mixture of different powers to form one Ultimate Combination. In short, this expansion promises to be exactly like predecessosrs.
The triplets have become a new fad for any good story nowadays, let it be in the form of a book, a game or movie; it eventually ends up assuming all the morphs. Lord of the Rings, Eragon, Harry Potter, etc. are just the cream of this huge cake. Ubisoft a gaming company has finally decided to try its hand in film making as well. The recent Prince of Persia trilogy had an epic storyline, is specially awaited, to be viewed in a movie format, which shows that Ubisoft does have the potential to produce masterpieces in the gaming and movie industry. “We will start making movies not because we want to, but because this is what we have to do.” A short film based on an upcoming game The Assassins Creed is the company’s current target.” We may consider doing longer-form films or television sometime in the future.” Shows that the company is indeed serious about getting into the movie business. The huge success of the anime industry has shown that a good storyline is the only requirement for a success. By making its own movies Ubisoft is ensuring double revenues with the game and its corresponding movie guaranteeing it a sure-footed path towards success. Of course not only content to stop there, a further book publishing is also planned, but it is hard to imagine the awesome acrobatics of the Prince, which may look spectacular on the big screen and the joy pad having the same effect through a book. Nevertheless undaunted the company has decided to pursue this ambition with full zeal. They said that Ubisoft is like an employee consuming monster, in spite of hiring 500 personnel each year its seems to run short. “We just can’t hire enough people” was the comment. So it has plans of establishing its campus in foreign countries, which shall also prove to be very useful in their movie making strategy to shoot for exotic locations. Though very keen on this new “IP” they have not yet given a specific date when one would get to see Ubisoft in action and watch Ubisoft get nominated for the Oscars.
Recently, what with the sudden downpour of Xbox360, all exhibiting a symptom of three flashing red lights and ending with hardware failure, Microsoft conducted an extensive investigation and came to the conclusion that there were quite some factors, which contributed to the hardware failure. So in order to “strengthen the long term health of Xbox business” it has decided to increase the warranty period given with each console by Microsoft from a single year to three years. Despite the fact that it is going to cost the company an arm and leg, it is still prepared to go ahead with this notion. A resounding amount of $1.05 million to $1.15 million excluding taxes was put aside from Microsoft’s budget to handle all the console repairing and the additional shipping and handling charges. Aside from making improvements and enhancements on the latest batch of Xbox360 so that they don’t suffer from the same ailments nick-named Ring of Death, they have decided to reimburse the people who have suffered form this problem and had to pay expenses to repair it. Though the humbled software Giant Microsoft is trying its best to makeup for this huge mishap it just logically follows this shall cost it in more then in fiscal terms. An open letter from Peter Moore “You’ve spoken, and we’ve heard you. Good service and a good customer experience are areas of the business that we care deeply about. And frankly, we’ve not been doing a good enough job……… If we have let any of you down in the experience you have had with your Xbox 360, we sincerely apologize. We are taking responsibility and are making these changes to ensure that every Xbox 360 owner continues to have a great experience. The quality assurance of Microsoft has its foundations shaken and now the unswerving supporters shall be faced with a dark fiend “doubt”. A chance which the Sony and Nintendo Corporations should be quick to take advantage off. “The majority of Xbox 360 owners are having a great experience with their console and have from day one. But, this problem has caused frustration for some of our customers and for that, we sincerely apologize,” said Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices Division. “We value our community tremendously and look at this as an investment in our customer base. We look forward to great things to come.” Though this might come as a blessing from heaven to all the frustrated Xbox users its still doesn’t cover all the bases. Globally exported from the day it was released, even though the warranty is available it won’t be so easy sending the console to Microsoft. So many of the gamers in far flung places of the globe shall have to wait for quite a time for their console to come back repaired and of course even this action does not fully guarantee that this error shall not pop-up again
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