Midnight is the “Gamer Spotlight” on the “Inside XBOX” blade on your XBOX 360 console. Way to go Midnight.
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US military buying 300 PlayStation 3 consoles for research lab project
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According to a presolicitation notice from the US General Services Administration, the US military is buying 300 PlayStation 3’s for some kind of unspecified research. According to the notice:
The Air Force Research Laboratory is conducting a technology assessment of certain cell
processors. The processors in the Sony PlayStation 3 are the only brand on the market that utilizes the specific cell processor characteristics needed for this program at an acceptable cost.It looks like Uncle Sam is building a hive mind based on cell processors on the cheap! Cell processors are found in each PlayStation 3 and run at 3.2 GHz.
Flashback: In late 2006 a machine codenamed “Roadrunner” was to be build by Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico by the Department of Energy. Roadrunner was to be build upon the cell processors designed for the PlayStation 3. According to Los Alamos National Laboratory, Phase 1 of the Roadrunner development is underway.
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A Halo Comic – a fan takes on Marvel
Dan Baker contacted us and told us that because he was disappointed with Halo: Uprising, he decided to do something about it. He’s started his own Halo comic – penciled, inked, painted in Photoshop, laid out in InDesign. He’s going to be providing it in two formats – an online version posted panel by panel as he completes them, and a decent-res PDF that folks can download and print, if they choose. The first few pages are up now – and quality is VERY high. Check this out!(Louis Wu 01:23:36 UTC)
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The Heart of Dorkness
Digikid pointed out that Spriggs Episode 7 has been released; currently there’s only a DivX download available, but more is coming. 16 minutes, 87 mb, the story is getting far more coherent. (No less silly – but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.) Go watch!(Louis Wu 01:13:26 UTC)
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Halownage.com FFA Tourney
Lani let us know that Halownage is running a small 32-player online tournament – play starts and ends on March 20, with Microsoft points, XBL subscriptions, and HoC credits on the line. Go read the Halownage forum post for the full details.(Louis Wu 01:08:31 UTC)
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Now Firing
It’s common knowledge that Bungie employees have access to heads of flame when playing on Xbox LIVE – ZZoMBiE13 shows you why that might not be something to strive for in today’s edition of Another Halo Comic Strip. (He also had something eloquent to say about Stuntmutt’s retirement yesterday… conveniently desktop-sized if you’ve got an Apple laptop.)(Louis Wu 19:53:25 UTC)
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Fan Art Contest at B.net
Rokit and friends have kicked off an art contest on the Bungie.net forums – submit your Bungie-related artwork, maybe go home with some cool Bungie store schwag. Go read the rules! Thanks, Maximum Fear.(Louis Wu 19:35:59 UTC)
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If she starts singing Debby Boone, I’m leaving.
Hawty McBloggy found an interesting lamp on eBay recently; a jackal squares off against a pair of spartans in a tree. Check it out!(Louis Wu 19:25:15 UTC)
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CoD4/Halo 3 Mystery… solved.
SPARTAN 294 pointed out that according to Major Nelson, Call of Duty 4 is still on top of the LIVE activity charts. I did some math… and I’d like to personally apologize for this. You see, CoD4 started this run on February 7… the day before I stopped playing Halo 3 – except for three short social games this weekend. (I haven’t been playing CoD4 – I haven’t been playing ANYTHING. Life’s been too crazy.) Coincidence? I don’t think so! (Louis Wu 19:11:57 UTC)
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I Wemember Wanda
I love it when a plan comes together. At least, that’s what it SEEMS like is happening with Halo Action Figure Theater – Elnea let us know that HAFT 133 went live last night, and things are STARTING to look like they have a shape. (She’s also got some interesting background info on the lengths she had to go to in order to get the shot…)(Louis Wu 18:34:11 UTC)
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Ascendant Justice Gets into the Blogging Game
Cocopjojo pointed out a new blog at Ascendant Justice – there are a few articles up already. Old and Aspiring looks at the upcoming Legendary Map Pack (and tries to make some predictions), they’ve got a Downloadable Content Page where they’ve compiled every quote Bungie’s given about each upcoming map, and they’re kicking off a Campaign review series called ‘Hindsight: Halo 3‘. Should give you a little bit to read!(Louis Wu 13:59:50 UTC)
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Didja know it was a cross?
Insight Gamer (and others in his thread) have been playing around with Spartan Laser physics – reminds me of the early days of Halo again! With Theater mode, you can see all sorts of secrets behind the curtain…(Louis Wu 13:54:54 UTC)
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Halo (two flavors) shows up on Terminator
Juxtapose was the first to let us know that Halo 3 (and Halo 2) made cameo appearances in the Season Finale of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Files (a TV show on Fox). He sent this along Sunday night; apparently, he’d been able to see it on CTV on Sunday, even though it broadcast here in the US last night (Monday). Had I been more on the ball, I could have actually told you about it BEFORE it aired… sorry about that. If you’d like to see it after the fact, visit Fox’s website. Pretty neat to see multiple instances in the same episode! (Louis Wu 13:45:27 UTC)
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Send in Stuff for This Week’s Show: The Ark Campaign Show!
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The UNSC has travelled through the teleporter on earth to installation 00, the Ark. Journey to the Cartographer and unlock it’s secrets to finish the fight. This level has tons of vehicular mayhem, some sniping and stealth, another scarab, and some more brute battles. We’re looking for your tips on how to get through this level effectively! Are there any secrets on this level? How do you handle the difficult parts? Any tips for campaign scoring on the Ark? Click the big green button and send in your tips with your gamertag so we can give you credit. Deadline is TONIGHT at about 7pm eastern. If you’ve had trouble getting your tip read on past shows, this is an ideal time to be in the limelight and get it read. Hurry!
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Recovery One, Part 1 – For Everyone
Back in November (well, starting in late October, I guess), Rooster Teeth posted a machinima series on Xbox Live Marketplace and on their website, for sponsors – Recovery One is a four-part series that follows up on Out of Mind, and expands the RvB universe. (It’s considerably darker than the standard RvB fare.) It’s now available for free for all on their website – if you haven’t seen it, go watch Part 1! (Sponsors should visit, too – Director’s Commentary for Part 1 has been posted, as well.)(Louis Wu 13:32:08 UTC)
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Grifball Champs – Team Cannonball!
Congratulations to Team Cannonball, who won the Winter Grifball League Championships last night, beating Grunts of Fury by a score of 8 goals to 1. They finish the season undefeated, having a total of only 14 goals scored against them in all 14 games they played (while scoring 94 against their opponents). Well-played, guys! (Thanks to Quikthnkr for the first heads-up.)(Louis Wu 11:49:20 UTC)
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You Can Has Recon.
So… remember that auction we held recently, for a piece of Mister Chief artwork, with proceeds going to charity? Well, the price for that puppy took off after someone asked “if I buy it, can I have Recon armor?” and Frankie said “of course.” The guy who bought it, though, bandicat… he’s just a nice guy, a member of the US Armed Forces, and he was bidding on this thing to help out the Brian Morden Foundation. He didn’t even have a LIVE account. When the dust settled, he found himself $6100 poorer (although for a very good cause), and in possession of a suit of armor usable only on a service he didn’t have access to. Ouch! Well… his awkward ownership is your good fortune. Bungie looked at his situation, and did two things: they gave him a LIVE account to go with that Recon armor… and they gave him permission to sell it. Which means you can buy it. I would hazard a guess that this will be the only time, ever, that you’ll be able to BUY Recon armor, with Bungie’s blessing. You’ve got 5 days – get to bidding.(Louis Wu 02:13:52 UTC)
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N+
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Opening
N+, as you may know, is the “sequel” to the flash browser game N. N stars a ninja with an unquenchable thirst for gold, the only thing prolonging his 90-second lifespan. The goal is to use your ninja acrobatics to make it to the end of the level, while collecting gold along the way to increase the timer. N+ is the same concept, but so much more inside. 50 “episodes” (think level playlists) of five levels each make up the single player. There is an addictive co-op mode, XBL or Local, and two different game modes, Race, and Survival also included. A level editor is another new addition, and is a shining example of what an XBL Arcade title should be.
Platform
Xbox Live ArcadePublisher
Metanet Software Inc.Visuals Score
8Visuals
Simple. This is all that N+ is. In the game there are no frills, no visual tweaks to make the game look nice and shiny. This isn’t Geometry Wars. The background is a light shade of grey, the walls a dark shade of grey. You are black (duh ninja). Gold is yellow, mines are red and other enemies are round circles. This is minimalism at its finest. The level design is impressive as well. You start with simple platforming sections, but as you progress the levels become steadily harder and will tax both your puzzle powers, and your reflexes to pass them.
Product Link
Sound Score
8Sound
Musically, there isn’t much. A simple techno loop and the sound effects are simple. As I’ve been saying, however, simple is key. The gold chime sounds like, well, something you collect. When you open a door, it sounds like a door opening. It’s just sounds. Very simple. Simple is key.
Gameplay Score
9Gameplay & Controls
N+, as those who are familiar already know, is all about doing crazy, daredevil acrobatic stunts, and has a distinctive freerunning taste to it. You have to dodge mines, various enemies, and collect the gold and make it to the finish as fast as possible. Thankfully, these seemingly complex maneuvers are made simpler with the simple controls. In fact, you use one button to jump and the thumbstick to move. If you hit a wall in air, you grab onto the wall and slide down. If you jump while in this position, you hurtle yourself off that wall. Simple controls for a simple game. These high-flying moves have nuances, but beginners learn quickly.
Longevity Score
10Longevity & Drawbacks
I don’t think, in my right mind, that I will ever beat this game. It has a whole lot of levels, and though each one is fairly short, they’re endlessly replayable. You can also play the co-op with up to four friends through the single-player campaign, or an entirely new co-op campaign. There are two multiplayer modes, as I mentioned, and they themselves have more levels. And, you can make your own levels in a level editor that controls much like a 2-D Forge, it being the best 3-D console level editor.
Overall Score
9.0Amazon link
Closing
N+ is what an Xbox Live Arcade game should be. Independent, cheap, easy to pick up and play, and just with that certain something that makes it great. It’s not perfect, but damn near close. It’s a great title, and is a lot of fun to play, for just maybe an episode at a time, or play it for hours. Pick up and play.
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Not Just All Good Things.
Stuntmutt might make you cry today. Go read One One Se7en to see why.(Louis Wu 14:11:07 UTC)
