Daily Wrap-Up 4.9.08
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Wednesday, April 09, 2008 6:01 PM
Here's what went down today in the world of popular culture, videogames and technology!
- Rock Band's developers are calling on Nintendo to put a hard drive in the Wii.
- The British Broadcasting Company is adding its iPlayer video service to the Wii.
- According to Ubisoft, Haze will "definitely" be released on 23rd May.
- An unnamed source has told Next Generation that a never-announced current-gen version of the classic car-smashing+pedestrian killing game Carmageddon is canceled.
- Sony's new BDZ-A70 Blu-Ray recorder lets users record TV to Blu-Ray discs, but it comes with an added bonus feature. It will let users transfer TV to the PSP.
- Scary Mario! Scary!
- Even though THQ has confirmed that the Warhammer 40,000 MMO is still years away, a few details about the game have dropped onto the internet.
- Perez Hilton is suing another blogger.
- Kane and Lynch ads were pulled in England.
- New Halo 3 screens were released.
- Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, is calling for the best and brightest to come together and research a cyber-security "Manhattan Project".
- Interplay is looking to restart in-house development and they are planning sequels for Earthworm Jim, MDK, Dark Alliance, and Descent.
--Read More--
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TAGS: Daily Wrap-Up, Videos
X-Play Gaming Update 04.09.08
Posted by Jonathan Hunt - Wednesday, April 09, 2008 5:23 PM
Today, Adam brings you the latest in gaming news, including new Halo 3 maps, a possible Fallout MMO, and Games for Windows Magazine goes entirely online.
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TAGS: G4, PC Gaming, Videogames
Happy Birthday, Hugh Hefner
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Wednesday, April 09, 2008 4:17 PM
Hugh Hefner, the creator of Playboy magazine, is 82 years old today. Hefner discovered female nudity in the 1950s, and has been enjoying it since.
Of course Hef's birthday is marked on my calendar in big red letters, so I didn't need the reminder, but a reminder I received nevertheless. You see, these guys named Joe and Dave have created a reality show that revolves around the search for an apprentice for Hef. They call it You As Hugh. Please visit their myspace page, and, if you're head of development for a network, give them a major television deal worth over a million dollars... if you're not in the television industry, take a look and decide if it's a cockamamie idea or not.
Then, check out my visit to the Playboy Mansion's for Halloween in the video below. It was the best thing that happened to me that whole day.
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TAGS: Girls, Prostate Health
Sessler's Soapbox: Grand Theft Box Office
Posted by Jonathan Hunt - Wednesday, April 09, 2008 3:30 PM
In this week's Sessler's Soapbox, Sessler is taking on Hollywood. Adam's got an issue with movie-type big wigs who prefer to blame a movie's sub-par performance on the release of a videogame instead of considering the possibility that the movie simply wasn't very good. What do you think? Do you think Halo 3 is at fault for the poor performance of The Heartbreak Kid? Will GTA IV affect Iron Man? Check out the video and share your thoughts below or let us know what you think on our forums.
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TAGS: G4, Movies, Sessler's Soapbox
World's Biggest Laser In Texas
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Wednesday, April 09, 2008 3:15 PM
Everything is bigger in Texas, even the lasers! University of Texas at Austin scientist have built a petawatt laser in hopes of "recreating astronomical phenomena like supernovae in miniature," and, surely, enslaving the world.
"We can put materials into states that you can't access here on earth," said Mikael Martinez, the laser project's manager. "You'd have to go out into space and hang out with an exploding star to observe what we plan to observe here in Texas."
Did you hear that? You'd have to go into space, yourself, to see what those guys only have to walk down the hall to look at.
Read more at Wired!
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TAGS: Other People's Misfortune, Tech
Dueling Uwe Boll Petitions
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Wednesday, April 09, 2008 2:32 PM
Yesterday, we brought you the news that director Uwe Boll (Alone in the Dark, Bloodrayne, Postal) said he'd consider quitting if a million people signed a petition urging him to drop out of filmmaking.
In the interest of presenting you with the other side of the story, the following online petition urges Uwe Boll to continue making movies. You'll notice the top signature belongs to me. I like the guy, what can I say? I've never seen any of his movies, but anyone who literally punches the internet in the face is the most awesome person alive.
Right now, the score for us Boll lovers isn't very encouraging:
Quit, Boll has 146,348 Total Signatures, and Keep Rockin' Boll has 323 signatures.
But the awesome thing is, Boll could easily kick the crap out of all 146,348 of the haters, at once, and he probably will, no matter what some fruity internet poll says.
UPDATE: Uwe responds live on The Loop!
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TAGS: Movies, Videogames
'Hulk' Voice Cast Includes Norton, Hurt
Posted by Mike D'Alonzo - Wednesday, April 09, 2008 2:17 PM
 The Incredible Hulk game, the companion to the forthcoming rebooted movie of the same name, will get the same cast to do voice acting as there is in the film. Which means that Edward Norton will play Dr. Bruce Banner (pelted by gamma rays...then he became the Hulk, isn't he glamorous?) and Wiliam Hurt will play General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross.
But wait! That's not all! Tim Roth will play Dr. Emil Blonsky, who you might recognize as the alter ego of The Abomination, the Hulk's sworn enemy. Also, the extremely tasty Liv Tyler will ply her vocal trade as Dr. Betty Ross, Banner's love interest.
So, it has a pedigree. That's worth something, innit?
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TAGS: Comics, Movies, PlayStation 3
'Lord of the Rings Online' Screenshots
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Wednesday, April 09, 2008 2:14 PM
Much like a fat guy who ate 16 chickens, The Lord of the Rings Online world is getting bigger. Check out the gallery of brand new Book 13 screenshots
The screenshots illustrate Forochel, a new region which lies in the far, frozen north of Eriador, to be added to the game with Book 13. Forochel lets players see the ocean for the first time and introduces several new temperature based landscape effects.
Coldness for you to enjoy. With ice! And slush!
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TAGS: PC Gaming, Videogames
Amazon Give HD DVD Buyers $50
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Wednesday, April 09, 2008 2:02 PM
Amazon.com feels really badly for you if you bought an HD-DVD player from them in the last few month; so badly, in fact, that they want to give you 50 bucks.
If you bought an HD-DVD player before February 23, 2008, you should have received an email offering a 50 dollars coupon to spend however you want on Amazon for the next year. Yes, that includes the 360 add-on.
The email reads, partially:
New technologies don't always work out as planned. We at Amazon.com value our customer relationships more than anything and would like to support customers who purchased these players by offering a credit good for $50 off any products sold by Amazon.com.** Just use promotional code [redacted] when checking out. The code is valid through April 9, 2009, so you have plenty of time to use your credit. Purchases from third-party merchants on our site are not eligible
Amazon.com
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TAGS: Movies, TV
'Burnout' Patch Coming: 4.24
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Wednesday, April 09, 2008 2:00 PM
A patch for Burnout: Paradise is coming, racing toward your game system, and should arrive on april 24th.
Criterion games made sure to fix the top 10 complaints from players:
- PS3 game can crash when a player is taken down and the player that has performed the Takedown leaves the game.
- The game indefinitely displays "Connecting to Paradise City Servers" if it's having problems communicating with the rebroadcast server.
- Disconnecting the controller before a race begins can mean that race timings can be manipulated with players who didn't cross the line first being awarded the win.
- Repeatedly joining and leaving a game with 8 players can cause the game to hang.
- Hammering the A (360) or X (PS3) after unlocking a car can cause the game to hang.
- East Crawford and Watt St achievements cannot be achieved if the player goes online and sets road rules before attempting them.
- Audio distortion when using 5.1 / DTS and looking back at the car.
- Enhanced 360 streaming performance stops instances where the game seems to pause for a second or so.
- Total time driven in player stats would stick at 145 hours.
- VoIP connection problems with 8 player games. This is now live on the Paradise City servers.
But that's not all. Click the cut for improvments that weren't asked for!
--Read More--
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TAGS: PlayStation 3, Videogames, Xbox 360
More Xbox Remote Evidence
Posted by Brian Leahy - Wednesday, April 09, 2008 1:19 PM
According to 8BitJoystick.com, Microsoft definitely has a Wiimote-clone in development. The project has the internal Microsoft codename of "Newton" and could be a few months away from prototype.
The interesting thing is that Nintendo does not own all of the patents for the Wiimote's technology. A few of them are owned by a company called Gyration and Microsoft could conceivably license the tech for their own use. Nintendo hired Gyration to help them develop the Wii remote and licenses the tech from them.
--Read More--
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TAGS: Videogames, Wii, Xbox 360
Gamecock Pulls Wooden Legs
Posted by Ty Colfax - Wednesday, April 09, 2008 12:47 PM
 Pirated copies of Gamecock's forthcoming Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball game have meant the publisher will have to delay its release until later this Spring. Revamping certain details has become a necessity thanks to leaked copy of the game floating out in the ether. They'll also be adding a new traditional mode to go along with the arcade-style gameplay already planned.
“We see the irony in all this,” noted Christopher Stockman, Studio Director at Blazing Lizard, the game's development house. “Rest assured, we have a crack team of Ninjas on the case and hunting down all pirates. On the positive side it gives us a chance to go back and add in additional content to the game.”
In the press release relayed to G4 it was also noted at the bottom, and I quote: "[disclaimer: the game has not been pirated but we wanted an excuse to announce the wait for the game and the new game mode.]"
Well played, Gamecock. Well played.
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TAGS: Videogames, Xbox 360
PS3 Thief Beaten Up By Girl
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Wednesday, April 09, 2008 12:38 PM
A thief made the mistake of a lifetime recently. He broke into professional female boxer Derdre Rodriguez's house and tried to steal her PS3, PSP and videogames as she lay sleeping.
She woke up, saw the robber climbing out of her window, chased him down, smashed his head in with an ice chipper, then, in the most awesome coupe-de-grace ever, the former pugilist forced the thief to pick up the stolen electronics he'd dropped during the chase (A PlayStation 3, a PSP, cell phones and videogames). She then made him wait in the house for the cops to show up and arrest him.
More woman than you could handle, that's for sure.
Check out the video here.
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TAGS: Other People's Misfortune, PlayStation 3, Sony PSP
Flickr Gets Moving Pictures
Posted by Mike D'Alonzo - Wednesday, April 09, 2008 11:56 AM
It's not at the point yet where it will threaten YouTube's dominance on the intarwebs, but Flickr just paved the way for a foothold in the industry. Now, the picture-oriented Yahoo-based service will allow users to upload videos up to 90 seconds in length, and no larger than 150MB in size.
Of course, only those with "pro" subscriptions are allowed to post videos to Flickr, and that's gonna cost you, but won't it be worth it for you to put up very short films of your life in a sort of moving picture album? Hello? Yeah, we thought not, either, but don't be surprised when Yahoo! turns it into a money maker. They do that.
CNET News.com: Yahoo extends Flickr with video
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TAGS: Internets Culture
'CoD4' Variety Pack: "Broadcast" Gameplay
Posted by Brian Leahy - Wednesday, April 09, 2008 11:54 AM
"Broadcast" is next in the Call of Duty 4 Variety Pack and this level is awesome. Based on the single-player mission, it features the legendary TV room, but it's got a lot more going on.
Objective gametypes rule the day here and expect some tough fights for capture points. Snipers won't find too much space to get shots off, but a good submachine gun can rule.
There are a lot of corners so silencers and UAV jammers can work wonders. Check it out, why don't you!
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TAGS: G4 Web Exclusive, PlayStation 3, Videogames
Nugget from the Net
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Wednesday, April 09, 2008 11:49 AM
Want to try a little reading, friend?
Defective Yeti answers the questions you're not smart enough to think of: How is Lost like World of Warcraft?
DefectiveYeti.com: The Perverse Appeal of LOST
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TAGS: Nuggets From The Nets
'Bourne Conspiracy' Trailer
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Wednesday, April 09, 2008 11:21 AM
Check out the trailer for The Bourne Conspiracy. Pretty snazzy, no?
It comes out on June 3rd.
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TAGS: PlayStation 3, Videogames, Xbox 360
Scrabble Really Comes To Facebook
Posted by Mike D'Alonzo - Wednesday, April 09, 2008 11:16 AM
 Tired of seeing Facebook's success with Scrabulous, who they've already sued for copying their game online, Mattel has put their own version of Scrabble on the social networking application, so now there are two versions of the game...the real one and the fake one.
The only problem is, for the moment, the fake one seems to be working better. Now, that doesn't mean that Mattel, who has a lot of money and are presumably motivated to make this application work, won't make it better eventually, but, for now, it seems to be Scrabulous FTW.
Eurogamer: Mattel launches Facebook Scrabble game
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TAGS: Internets Culture
Zero Punctuation On 'No More Heroes'
Posted by Stephen Johnson - Wednesday, April 09, 2008 11:08 AM
In case you missed last night's preview on X-Play, here's the latest Zero Punctuation, where Yahtzee, the wittiest/complainiest videogame reviewer ever, takes on No More Heroes.
Don't forget that X-Play previews the latest episode of The Escapist Magazine's Zero Punctuation each Tuesday night at 8PM ET.
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TAGS: TV, Videogames
Interplay Plans Tons of Sequels
Posted by Brian Leahy - Wednesday, April 09, 2008 11:05 AM
Interplay is looking to restart in-house development and they are planning sequels for some classic franchises.
We could be seeing next-gen version of Earthworm Jim, MDK, Dark Alliance, and Descent.
Personally, I've wanted a new Descent game on modern hardware for a long time and Earthworm Jim is always good for a laugh.
This comes from the money Interplay made from selling the Fallout property to Bethesda.
Shacknews: Interplay Plans Sequels to Earthworm Jim, MDK
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TAGS: Videogames
Government Wants Computer "Manhattan Project"
Posted by Brian Leahy - Wednesday, April 09, 2008 10:25 AM
Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, is calling for the best and brightest to come together and research a cyber-security "Manhattan Project".
That's right... a defensive initiative to protect against cyber-terrorism is the same as the project that created nuclear bombs to Chertoff. Good job, government.
Chertoff said, "We need a game-changer with how we deal with a |
