Cliff Bleszinski's Opinions On The Next-Gen Consoles

Face melting graphics and his smoking hot girlfriend, you have to see this!

No More Scion xB, xD Models

There won't be anymore Scion xB and xD models being produced anymore...

DayZ Zombie Mod

A great zombie mod for the tactical shooter game, ArmA II: Combined Operations. Very recommended for people who love zombies!

Cars Crushed To Avoid Jailtime

Two lovely looking Nissan R33s destroyed for having no VIN identifications.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Killed

The studio who bought you the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series has been shut down, but a surprise awaits...

Saturday, March 31, 2012

PS Vita Mortal Kombat Coming On May 1


Mortal Kombat fans, gear up as a portable version of the beloved fighting game is set to release in North America on May 1 as a European release is set for May 4 on the Sony PlayStation Vita. So now you can do fatalities on the toilet, in bed, and everywhere you can think of.

A lot of detail was put into this as the Mortal Kombat game was specially made for Vita, featuring a Challenge Tower mode that comes with 150 missions. With use of the touchscreen, the game lets players perform fatalities with a simple swipe of the finger across the screen to perform sick and deadly fatalities. You might be thinking that this might be another fruit ninja combined with a fighting game, but you should check out the trailer.


To me, it does look like fruit ninja in some of the scenes! Although, the fatalities in the trailer looked awesome and nasty at the same time. If you own a Vita and a Mortal Kombat fan or someone wanting to try the fighting genres, I would happily recommend the Mortal Kombat series.

It is developed by NetherRealm Studios and the publisher is Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

I also made a new banner for the blog!

Friday, March 30, 2012

Credit Card Data In Xbox 360 Hard Drives


A group at Drexel University conducting a research says that the hard drives in the Microsoft Xbox 360 video game system retain credit card data even after they have been reformatted and sold again, so is your credit card at risk?

In a response, Microsoft said they will be conducting tests on how the researchers managed to get info out, but have not yet been able to replicate what the group did. In a statement by Jim Alkove, who is the general manager of Microsoft's security of interactive entertainment business, told Joystiq


"We are conducting a thorough investigation into the researchers' claims. We have requested information that will allow us to investigate the console in question and have still not received the information needed to replicate the researchers' claims.
Xbox is not designed to store credit card data locally on the console, and as such seems unlikely credit card data was recovered by the method described. Additionally, when Microsoft refurbishes used consoles we have processes in place to wipe the local hard drives of any other user data. We can assure Xbox owners we take the privacy and security of their personal data very seriously."

Although Microsoft claims that this doesn't seem possible at all that the systems could still retain the data after being reformatted. The researchers at Drexel said that modders can pull the numbers out by just using the common hacking tools found. 

This is quite scary for many, as similar mishaps also happened to other companies as their information of customers was taken without any permission. One thing that potential console sellers should do is to just keep their system for now, until Microsoft has found a fix to this mess.

[IGN]

Thursday, March 29, 2012

SimCity News


Since the first real news of SimCity came out not too long ago, more details have been released. As it seems like every game now requires a constant internet connection, SimCity will grow out of the good old days into the modern gaming era by requiring an internet connection. Other news confirmed from the publisher is that the game will also be available on Origin, apart from the physical copy. Leader designer Stone Librande states that players are required to be online using Origin to be able to play, even the games that were bought outside. To defend his words, Librande says that this requirement is necessary for SimCity's multiplayer features both regionally and globally.

Regarding mod support, there won't be support at the start of the game's launch. Librande says, "Right now we've got our work cut out for us to build the product up to the quality level it deserves as a SimCity." Don't be discouraged as he also says, "Then after we ship, we'll make decisions about how we can and when exactly we'll support mods."

Librande also adds, "But it's worth pointing out that the reason people are still playing SimCity 4 almost ten years later is because the modding community essentially re-created it and filled it with new content and fixed bugs and made it as much of a hobby as it is a game."

The final words of the lead designer were, "We're very cognizant of that -- we're not idiots."

I do agree with Librande, as the last SimCity game, SimCity 4, is still alive to this day with mods being churned out by many players everyday. For me, I would rather have mod support later so the developers can have more time concentrating on releasing a quality game. I'm glad that the developers recognized the communities that still support the series, as they'll make sure they treat their consumers greatly.

SimCity is set to release on PC in 2013

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Will The PS4 Lock Out Used Games?


Just in, reports that a tipster shared some wanted news to Kotaku that the next PlayStation 4 will feature a system that will lock out used games and have no backwards compatibility with the previous PS3 titles. The PlayStation 4 will be named "Orbis" and that it will ship during the 2013 holiday season. There still isn't any conformation that the next Sony system will be actually named "Orbis" or that it could be just a codename.

As these are just rumors, there have been multiple sources citing that "Orbis" will come equipped with an anti-used game system and the games will be on Blu-Ray discs or on downloads, eventually being locked to just one PSN account...

To make matters worse, the sources say that to be able to boot up games, users would have to be connected to PSN. Although, gamers can trade-in their games, but the next person who buys the traded-in game will be subjected to a "limited trial mode" or to some form of restriction on the content.

Other rumors suggest that the next Xbox will also have a system to block used games. It's just a matter of time before any of these rumors are fake or actually become real. Time will tell.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Top 10 Cars With Highest Female Ownership


In a recent article by Inside Line, they have made a list of the top ten 2011 car models that have the highest rate of female owners. Astonishingly, over half of owners of the Volvo S40 are driven by females, with 57.9%. The percentages continue on down the list, and some of us do know that some vehicles are preferred to be called "girl cars" or whatever you would like to call them.

So, here are the standings...

1. Volvo S40..........................57.9%
2. Nissan Rogue......................56.9%
3. Volkswagen Eos.................56.4%
4. Volkswagen New Beetle.....54.6%
5. Toyota Matrix.....................54.1%
6. Hyundai Tucson..................54.0%
7. Honda CR-V......................53.4%
8. Toyota RAV-4....................53.0%
9. Nissan Juke.........................52.7%
10. Jeep Compass...................52.7%

On a personal note, I do actually see 3 out of 4 drivers of the Honda CR-V being female, as my mother drives one and through looking at other drivers. I wonder what the rest of the list would look like. Do you own a vehicle that is on this list?

Monday, March 26, 2012

Minecraft Reaches The $80 Million Mark


As of today, Minecraft has made $80 million since the "official" release of the sandbox game back in October! Mojang has seen success with their release, as of 25 million who downloaded Minecraft, 5 million actually purchased it.

And with surprise, Mojang's chief executive, Carl Manneh said that they were given an idea to make a television show based off of Minecraft. I wonder how that would turn out...opinions?

Manneh said, "We've been approached by a number of high-profile Hollywood producers and asked to do TV shows." he continues, "We may do that. It's hard when you don't have any experience and someone comes to throw these ideas around. We have so much to focus on with just the game development and growing the business..."

To you Xbox 360 junkies, Minecraft will be available on the Xbox Live Arcade on May 9, so hold tight!
-----
Additional news, yesterday I was browsing through Tom's Hardware and I saw this article. It was about this 16 year old boy who made a working scientific calculator in Minecraft, yes Minecraft! This huge piece of machinery actually does functions such as cosine, tangent, and much much more. Additionally, the calculator also works as a graphing calculator, freaking amazing! Here's the Youtube clip of it in action.



My jaw absolutely dropped when I saw this, I wondered how long it took him to make this fine piece of work. I was going through the comments and I saw some pretty nice comments.

- jaquith 03/25/2012 3:10 PM
This 16 year old is astonishingly brilliant, for his application to MIT all he needs to do is email a YouTube link. It's simply unbelievable that's all I can say. 

-rothmal 03/25/2012 2:11 PM
but can it divide by zero

-fracture 03/26/2012 8:36 PM
But can Minecraft make Crysis?

You also have to read the Youtube comments, a lot of good laughs.
I'm still waiting for someone to top this design, this kid is a genius!

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Foosball 2012 Coming Spring To PS3 & Vita


Looks like there's going to be a Foosball game coming out for both Sony game systems. So, if you don't want the trouble of buying an actual Foosball table, why not play it digitally? Grip Games announced "Foosball 2012" two days ago on the PlayStation blog, revealing various details.

Foosball 2012 will be a downloadable game for both the PlayStation Vita and 3 allowing you to take advantage of the cross-platform play that this game supports. What if you own both gaming systems? Well, your in luck as there will be an automatic synchronization system that will save data between the systems, allowing you to continue playing on the Vita when you decide to head out of the house for example. Also, a great addition is that you can purchase Foosball 2012 on the PS3 and not pay for it on your Vita at no extra charge including additional content.

Features such as different tables are available, customization, different ball types, and trick shots are packed into the game. Game modes such as the single-player World Tour lets you travel around the world challenging various AI opponents, as well as multiplayer. If you want to get interactive, PlayStation Move is supported on the console.



The planned release for Foosball 2012 is at the end of Spring, being available through the PlayStation Store.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition Coming To iPad


If you're a Baldur's Gate fan and have an iPad, your in luck, as you can play on the go whenever you want where you want with Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition. Overhaul Games, who is the developer, announced a new version of the RPG that was made in 1998 to be available for the iPad through iTunes.

The expected release date for this app will be during the summer, as the game runs on the newly updated Infinity Engine. As a bonus, an expansion pack is included, Tales of the Sword Coast. New features added by Overhaul Games is content that has never been seen before in Baldur's Gate and includes a new "adventure" as well as having party members. Although, Overhaul Games didn't mention if Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition would also be available for iPad...

Don't fret if you want to play this for PC, as both the enhanced editions of Baldur's Gate I and II will be made available.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Many Fisker Karma Owners Unhappy, Consumer Report


On a Consumer Report's review on the Fisker Karma, the expensive hybrid died on review with only 200 miles on the odometer. The car was in the repair shop for the next two days, as the $108,000 hybrid was eventually given disappointing views.


Although, the only good thing from Consumer Reports on the Karma is that the design was "simply stunning," nothing else. The engine which both uses gasoline and electricity gets very loud once the battery is used up. Also, the massive weight of the vehicle which stands at 5,395 Lbs similar to SUVs does not help with handling at all. The interior was also disappointing, as the touchscreen was only in greyscale like look and a lot of menu flipping where Consumer Reports criticized Fisker greatly.

Also, uncovered from the web were actual owner complaints in which most of them came from FiskerBuzz.com. In various posts, owners complained of problems such as having to replace the differential at around every 1,000 miles and the car reportedly shutting off at 35 mph in drive, as well as shifting trouble.

An excerpt taken from an owner:

"Just this weekend, for example, the speedometer and energy meter display disappeared when driving, on top of having several other rogue warning indicators appear last week. It is expected we'll be revisiting the dealership soon. We've had cars in the past that have been troublesome, but never anything like this."

Consequently, the company received Department of Energy loans as Fisker is suffering from problems that many other start-up car companies have...

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Adding Warning Labels To Games, Proposed Bill


Recently introduced yesterday, the Violence in Video Games Labeling Act would require a warning label to be added to most video games that would say, "WARNING: Exposure to violent video games has been linked to aggressive behavior."

This bill was introduced by Frank Wolf (Republican in Virginia) and Joe Baca (Democrat in California), who in response claims that the increasing evidence of playing violent games is bad for your health. Baca stated that, "The video game industry has a responsibility to parents, families and to consumers - to inform them of the potentially damaging content that is often found in their products." He also said, "They have repeatedly failed to live up to this responsibility."

If the bill was passed, this would require games with an ESRB rating of E and above to have the warning label ignoring the fact that a game might not be violent at all. Everything below rated E, such as EC would not have to carry the label. Attempts to pass this bill has also occurred in both 2009 and 2011.

The following statement to Game Informer by the Entertainment Software Association who is a trade group who represents video game publishers in the U.S. says that:

"The Entertainment Software Association supports providing parents with complete and useful information so they can make informed purchasing decisions. The current video game rating system does so and has been lauded as the leading rating system in the entertainment industry.

Unfortunately, Representative Baca’s facially unconstitutional bill—which has been introduced to no avail in each of six successive Congressional sessions, beginning in 2002—needlessly concerns parents with flawed research and junk science. Numerous medical experts, research authorities, and courts across the country, including the United States Supreme Court, exhaustively reviewed the research Representative Baca uses to base his bill and found it lacking and unpersuasive. Independent scientific researchers found no causal connection between video games and real life violence.

We would commend Representatives Baca and Wolf to the reams of bourgeoning academic research demonstrating that video games can be innovative learning and assessment tools in engaging and educating America’s youth, especially in core subjects such as science, technology, engineering and math."
- Rich Taylor

Now this is just outrageous!

[GameInformer]

Monday, March 19, 2012

World of Warcraft on iPhone?

Wallpaper

Blizzard is still thinking about if they should expand the famous game, World of Warcraft onto the iPhone. Senior producer of WOW John Lagrave had confirmed that the company looked into the mobile world as a potential candidate for development. Eventually, this hasn't been the first time that the company has mentioned bringing the MMORPG onto the iPhone, as the co-founders of Blizzard, Frank Pearce and Michael Morhaime, told that they were exploring the deep of the mobile world to IGN in December.

"Maybe we'll stumble on the great way to put WOW on the phone, maybe we won't, but we're certainly looking into it." said John Lagrave.

Lagrave also added, "The world is evolving towards that little handheld device. I'd have fun on it, that's absolutely the case. It would be foolish for any game developer to not be looking at that and...we don't think we're foolish! We just haven't solved it. What we've done with WOW on mobile devices is very simplistic: view the armory, you check your auctions; not just on mobile but also on web. When we have an epiphany, everyone will know, but for now, no epiphany!

I think that Blizzard is just trying to get more players into their game, but also profiting from this also. I also think that this is a good venture for the company, as trying something new isn't bad at all.

[IGN]

Saturday, March 17, 2012

2013 Ford Mustang Configurator Live!

2013 Shelby GT500 Wallpaper!

Ford has just released the car configurator for their 2013 Mustang, being able to choose from the standard V6 up to the Shelby GT500 for configuration to your liking. There are numerous options to choose from such as voice-activated navigation and Sync technology. If your on the sporty side, one can add a pair of Recaro seats which costs $1,595 extra.

If your crazy enough, checking all the options on the GT500 will total around $66,485. Now, building your own Mustang should be fun, lets go!  [Configurator]

Quick Specs:

Mustang V6
- 3.7L V6 Engine
- 19 city / 29 hwy MPG
- Rear Wheel Drive
- 305 Horsepower
- Starting $22,200

Mustang GT
- 5.0L V8 Engine
- 17 city / 26 hwy MPG
- Rear Wheel Drive
- 402 Horsepower (Regular Fuel)
- Starting $30,300

Boss 302
- Hi-Po 302 V8 Engine
- 17 city / 26 hwy MPG
- Rear Wheel Drive
- 444 Horsepower
- Starting $42,200

Shelby GT500
- 5.8L Supercharged V8 Engine
- MPG to be decided
- Rear Wheel Drive
- 650 Horsepower
- Starting $54,200

Friday, March 16, 2012

Elder Scrolls MMO Being Developed

Wallpaper!

An article published by Tom's Guide claims that Bethesda is currently working on an Elder Scrolls MMO which is cited from an industry source not noted. Also, the MMO would take place a millennium before the events of Skyrim, and predictions say that the setting would be in the "Second Era" of the Elder Scrolls. Consequently, the MMO would take place way before the events of any game in the Elder Scrolls series.

Reports say that there will be three factions that are playable, which represent by an animal, a lion, a dragon, and a bird. An announcement would probably take place in May 2012, as E3 is approaching and confirmation that the game would be shown at Quakecon 2012 which takes place in August.

Bethesda is currently working with ZeniMax on the MMO as job postings were seen on ZeniMax's website on the project for a while now.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Who Said PC Gaming is Dead?


To all the people who said PC gaming is dead, your incorrect, as a report from the PC Gaming Alliance group said that the market is growing steadily. This report, "Horizon Research 2011" claims that in 2011, PC gaming made about $18.6 billion which is up 15% from the previous year.

In the report, it is reported that the PC gaming market in China is growing near twice the rate of any other region as the market in China accounted for $6 billion which is up form 27%. Also, markets in regions such as Japan, Germany, Korea, UK, and US increased 11% to $8 billion.

A significant reason of the growth in 2011 can be looked at from free to play games such as League of Legends and also some high rated games such as Skyrim. Companies such as Nexon and Zynga also contributed to the increase in the gaming market.

A prediction by the group said that the PC gaming market will increase by 37% to nearly $25.5 billion by 2015. The reason to this is because of the greater access to an internet connection and the simplicity of methods of payments and digital distribution.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

20 Million Downloads for App "Draw Something"


After five weeks since the release date of OMGPOP's app, Draw Something, the app has reached 20 million downloads. According to Business Insider, a report was generated that the app currently generates a six figure income per day for OMGPOP, but also has past the revenue that the company has made all of last year in the five weeks, holy @#$!. 

I was always wondering what "Draw Something" was, since I saw my buddy from English class play it and saw posts about it on Facebook. Well, I decided to find out what this app was, and it just reached 20 million hits. I guess I should download it now.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Thinking About Using Toothpaste To Change Your License Plate?


If you thought of altering your license plate, please don't attempt what this man did. The Chinese driver of a Porsche Boxster was busted for using toothpaste, yes toothpaste, to avoid the authorities. The owner of the Porsche used toothpaste to change the number 1's on his plate to 7's, which actually attracted more attention from the Qingdao police. The way the man was caught was that the police thought that the 7's on his plate did not look right from the standard font used.

The driver was fined 2,220 yuan ($349) and received six points docked off from his license, eventually causing him to have a total of zero points left. Sucks for him.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Assassin's Creed III and Grand Theft Auto V Pre-Order Bonuses

More wallpaper for you!

There has been rumors that both the new GTA and AC games will come with a bonus if you pre-order them. Although, there are currently no bonuses if you pre-order the next GTA according to sites such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Gamestop, and Amazon. Just hold on to your hat, because you can expect that Rockstar will somehow offer a bonus if you pre-order.

As for the next Assassin's Creed, there is already a pre-order bonus thanks to the retailers and Ubisoft. Although, various sites may have different bonuses, the only real difference is that Best Buy will have free shipping while Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Gamestop will not have free shipping. The pre-order prize for all of those retailers is a free case that will feature the art drawn by Alex Ross, who is an award-winning comic artist.

Grand Theft Auto V is expected to be released on January 2013 while Assassin's Creed III is on October 30, 2012.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Modern Consoles Are Present In Over Half of US Homes

Recent news from major data-tracking company Nielsen shows that console gaming is increasing as more people in the United States are starting to spend more money and time playing video games. This survey is taken annually as over half of the households in the United States (56% exact) own at least a console that is in this current generation.

Shocking info was that this number is up from 50% from last year, as 66% of kids ranging from 6-12 have their own Nintendo DS or PSP as well as an Apple device to accommodate their needs. For a complete view of video games, please check out this link, which is full of information.  [Nielsen]



As a gift, I will be posting up wallpapers also!



Wednesday, March 7, 2012

2012 Toyota Prius C


If your looking for a hybrid, then the Toyota Prius C will be a good fit for you. The Prius C is a four door hatchback that will be shown at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show in the US trim. The C will most likely become Toyota's most important Prius as this one will sell at a much easier rate due to the establishment of the Prius as a hybrid icon and rising gas prices.




The Prius C will come with a lot of addons at an attractive price which is currently an estimate. Addons such as Bluetooth connectivity, Toyota's Entune infotainment, and much more will be included at various trims. This new hybrid will be at dealerships in the US during first half of 2012.

Specs:

Estimated MSRP: $24,000 - $29,805
Estimated MPG: 52 city/46 hwy
Horsepower: 73 hp @ 4800 rpm
DriveTrain: Front Wheel Drive, Automatic Transmission
Curb Weight: 2500 Lbs

For complete information:


Tuesday, March 6, 2012

SimCity is Back!


During GDC 2012, EA announced the return of the SimCity series just an hour ago. The original developers, Maxis, who are well known from the Sims series has re-united with the city building game, as they are now responsible for the production of the game. Throughout the past years, people thought SimCity would never come back again, but a few still had hope that the franchise would make a come back. Today, the rumors that were circulating that SimCity would come back were indeed true.



The revamped SimCity website also went live an hour ago, as it introduces the game. A projected release date for SimCity is quite broad, but still in range, 2013. Although the last SimCity game, SimCity 4 was released in 2003, the hiatus of the next game in the franchise stopped today, leaving nearly a decade in wonder.

New features such as multiplayer brings a new concept in the city building simulation, as players would have to work together to build a region by being neighbors. Of course the visuals vastly improved over the last game, but game mechanics are somewhat identical. You can specialize what industry your city is going to be, such as industrial or hi-tech. The engine that SimCity will be running on will be the GlassBox game engine, which is a revolutionary simulation technology that lets you impact the lives of sims, manage city level simulation, and much more. 

Also, an announcement trailer was released and played at GDC


If you've been a fan of the SimCity franchise, you would be in love.
SimCity is now on pre-order on EA Origin

Links:



Monday, March 5, 2012

Minecraft Xbox 360 Split-Screen


Well, we all know what Minecraft is, and it has been on the 360 for quite some time. Recently, a new feature has been added, which is split screen multiplayer (No official screenshots yet).

Also, there has been speculation how the 360 version of Minecraft struggled to keep up with the updates that are made by Mojang. Currently, the live DLC certification takes time and can not be released for free. A solution has been found by Microsoft where updates will be released to all players as title updates that are free. Title updates have been usually kept for fixes and patches, not for new content, but this approach is new.

Consequently, the PC version of Minecraft will always be most up to date than the 360 version, due to the certification that is required on the 360, which is much longer than the PC. 

To me, the split screen multiplayer is a good addition to the console, as it allows friends that are with you full flexibility to join in. As for the updates, the new approach seems pretty good to me.

More wallpaper for your desktop!!


[Kotaku

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Hello!

Hello reader, and welcome to my new blog!

In this blog, I will post anything that is related to video games and cars, like news on upcoming releases or reviews, or just random information that will amuse you guys and gals.

For my first post in this blog, I shall present you my current wallpaper that is on my desktop

A Nissan GT-R R35 with a couple of modifications, oh my heart melts for this beauty!

I found this picture through a website, and I thought this looked awesome. At first, my mind thought this was real, but as the next day came, I realized that this was not in real life. I examined the picture closely, and told myself that this must have been from a video game.

Does anyone know where this image was taken from?

I have hopes that this blog will attract readers that are interested in those two hobbies or whichever you would like to call them. So for now, enjoy the wallpaper and I hope to see you in my next post!