• HOME
• NEWS
• SPORTS
• A&E
• OPINION
• MULTIMEDIA
• PRIME
• BLOGS
• EVENTS
• CLASSIFIEDS
• HOUSING

I got my hands on some radical new gaming interfaces today and I have this to say: if you're still using a wired game controller to play games, you are a dinosaur. Thanks to the breakneck pace of gaming technology, wired game controllers will soon be nothing more than crumbling fossils, relics of an ancient past depicted in rudimentary cave paintings. I'm exaggerating only slightly.

Most people play 'FPS' (First Person Shooter) games so they can shoot people, but getting shot can be fun too. Today I sustained multiple gunshot wounds without any of the messy consequences of reality, like bleeding and going to the emergency room. TN Games' FPS Vest utilizes 8 pressure points and an air compression system to provide whole body force feedback, simulating explosions, gunshots, punches, and even G forces with racing and flight simulators.

I have to admit, I was pretty apprehensive about putting something on my body that would allow me to feel the painful consequences of my in-game actions, but the FPS Vest's force feedback never becomes uncomfortable. I wasn't particularly skilled with the pack in game “Third Space Incursion,” but I'm happy to report that dying actually doesn't hurt. In addition, the feedback is context specific. Depending on if you're shot in the back with a shotgun or in the chest with a pistol, the pressure points in the afflicted area will inflate. For example, at one point while I was attempting to familiarize myself with the game's controls, I accidentally tossed a grenade at my feet and all eight pressure points triggered as I was caught in the ensuing explosion.

The FPS Vest is currently retails for $189 and is bundled with the concurrently developed 'FPS' title "3rd Space Incursion." The vest will also launch this November with the PC version of "Call of Duty 4" by virtue of a patch.

Right next door, the Novint Falcon was on display.

Continue reading »

Day 2 of E For All has been a day of previewing interesting video games, occasional celebrity sightings and attempting to operate mind-blowing new gaming interfaces. But mostly, it's been a day of flashing my media badge to cut packed lines at the “The Super Smash Bros. Brawl” demo areas. Here are my impressions:

“Super Smash Bros. Brawl” has four control schemes available, but only the Wii Remote style was available at the convention. Basically, you turn the remote on its side so the directional pad is where a joystick would be and the 1 and 2 buttons are under your right thumb, and the B button on the back is for shielding.

All I have to say about this control method is that I'm glad there are three other methods available. It's basically like playing an incredibly fast-paced third-generation console game with an original NES controller. After five matches with a particularly unskilled Nintendo exhibitor, my thumb was already feeling blistered. The lightning-fast directional changes and dodge rolls necessary to play are simply painful to perform on a Wii Remote. As for the B button on the back, I would have loved to use it to shield and dodge, but I simply don't have a sixth finger.

The other control scheme I was able to try was the Wii Classic Controller, which looks like the lovechild of a PlayStation 2 controller and a Super NES controller. Gameplay was much improved with the classic controller, but the buttons for the grab move are poorly placed high up on the shoulders of the controller, and the parallel position of the two joysticks are less than optimal, placed very low on the controller and depriving your thumbs of a full range of movement. As I deployed my “1337 tatix” on the hapless Nintendo representative, attempts for fast lateral movement often resulted in jumping or diagonal movement.

The other controls available use the familiar Gamecube controller and the Wii Nunchuck combo.

Continue reading »

After sifting through seemingly endless press releases and appointment solicitations from all kinds of game-related exhibitors at this weekend’s Entertainment for All Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center (ever needed a special pair of pants to wear while gaming? Or are you such a serious gamer that you want to design games?), I finally came across something that nearly gave me a reason to need that extra pair of pants. Four words and a digit: playable "Metal Gear Solid 4."

Yes, my gaming friends, bust out the champagne flutes and confetti for the welcome party; Konami’s "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots" will be making its trans-Pacific journey for the first time to American consoles exclusively at E for All.

There’s something special about gaming that inspires me. Perhaps it’s the nostalgia of the whole medium (the original "Metal Gear" was released in 1987, the same year I was born), or perhaps it is the future of gaming that excites me – Konami is celebrating its 20th year of the "Metal Gear" franchise this year. Konami has a special place in my heart, as it has produced major franchise names such as "Silent Hill," "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," "Metal Gear" and, of course, "Dance Dance Revolution."

Video games are in a sense, made up of our childhood dreams that never quite faded from our imagination but instead expanded with the development of new technology and creative talent in the industry. It is constantly amazing to see what companies have in mind for the future, whether it is a revival of the simple oldies (i.e. Capcom’s "Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo," now downloadable from Xbox Live Arcade) or the development of ridiculous instrument peripherals for games like EA’s new "Rock Band."

I admit that my geeky dream since my seventh-grade subscription to the recently discontinued Official Playstation Magazine was to one day go to E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo), which has been downsized this past year. I was disheartened and wondering if the world of big games was finally diminishing. Oh ye of little faith! With the release of the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox and Sony Playstation 3, next-gen gaming is finally here. Rather than diminishing, the industry is booming so big that they had to create separate expos for media and for the masses. Though I never got an invitation to E3 2007 (I’m still crossing my fingers for next year), I’m indescribably excited to be a part of this year’s first ever E For All Expo.

Leave a comment »

Friday October 19, 2007
1 p.m.

Though I am not a proponent of spill-it-all blogs, I have a confession to
make.
I usually go to fairs – ranging from the California State Fair to on-campus career fairs – for nothing more than the free stuff. After all, why go back-to-school shopping when you can get free pens, pencils and Post-Its? Oh, and don't forget the food (I shamelessly load up on free samples)!
Though E for All Expo isn't exactly a fair, I was habitually drawn to inquire about all of the free giveaways available for attendees. About five booths were giving away free pens with their company logos, a few exhibitors were giving out T-shirts (sadly, all a few sizes too big for me), PowerUp Games (a company that trains people to be games testers) offered me a media packet in a laptop bag, 5-Hour Energy was passing out sample energy shots (might be helpful for late-night gamers), and "Guitar Hero III" was
distributing game-related stickers and Target wristbands.
But I think the award really goes to Nintendo. Not only was the innovative company passing out t-shirts for contestants in the "Super Smash Brothers Brawl" tournaments, they were handing out these finger-sized Wiimote keychains. They don't function as actual Wiimotes (I would be impressed if they did), but I discovered about half an hour later (I was too distracted by all the Nintendo madness to notice) that it is actually an LED light! How cute!

A side note: I was pretty disappointed by Sony and Microsoft's lack of appearance at the Expo, especially Sony's. Nintendo had one of the biggest interactive booths out of all of the other exhibitor booths, which is natural since they have to display both games and the consoles (and the Wiimote shooting controller). Microsoft had a presence there, though not in physical name. All of the gaming consoles on display for players to sample
at the "Guitar Hero II" and "Guitar Hero III" booths were Xboxes, and, of course, all the multiplayer platform matches were mostly for "Halo" on Xboxes as well. The Playstation 3 had little representation at all, except at the Konami booth, which had an exclusive caged-off area for playing "Metal Gear Solid 4." Sony, I like you too, and I really missed you today.

Leave a comment »

Sightings

Sunday, Oct. 21, 2007
3:30 p.m.

E for All is a bizarre mix of blatant advertisement, cutthroat commerce and sheer fun, which can result in an equally bizarre demographic of gamers and exhibitors.
In terms of booth mascots and commercial “cos-play," companies seemed lacking compared to past E3 expos (the original Electronic Entertainment Expo, which was much more exclusive than E for All, which is aimed at the mass consumer). E for All did a little reflexive advertisement, sending around Tyler Coburn, from Los Angeles, with a “TV-Shirt” – a Tshirt with a built-in monitor with advertisements for the show.
Mr. and Mrs. Pac-man made an appearance, advertising for Pac-man mobile games. Popeye and Olive Oyl also showed up for a while, as well as some “ancient Egyptian” woman from an unknown booth.
E for All lacked much of the “scandalous scandal” that plagued the later E3s, when women who worked at displays were instructed to tone down the cleavage and skin also on display, since adolescent youths were present at the show as well. There were a few voluptuous booth ladies, but no Lara Crofts. For the most part, staffers showed off little more than their legs in black miniskirts at the Nintendo booth.
Gamers didn’t seem to dress up much in costume late in the expo aside from Thursday’s early “Cos-Play” contest. The Ice Climbers from "Super Smash Bros." played "Brawl" for a while before heading over to play "Rock Band." Jack Sparrow was randomly wandering about near the Intel display, and a few RPG characters made their way into the showroom.
Some celebrities also made appearances. Mad Mike from MTV’s "Pimp My Ride" showed up on Sunday to play a few games and chat with fans. On Friday, Koji Igarashi, the producer of Konami’s "Castlevania" series, spent some time signing autographs. Derek Fisher of the L.A. Lakers and Cory Maggette of the L.A. Clippers battled against each other and took turns against professional video gamer labeled the Michael Jordan of pro gaming, Jonathan “Fata1ity” Wendel, in playing NBA Live ’08.
Apparently, there are celebrities and professionals in the gaming world as well. Freddie Wong, a fourth-year cinema productions student at USC is one example of burgeoning talent. The "Guitar Hero" guru rocked out on Target’s "Guitar Hero" stage, as well as at the Expo’s closing "Rock Band" show. Wong says the majority of this “practice” comes from joking around with his roommates who are equally enthusiastic about the game.
Major League Gaming is also another hot spot for prospective professional gamers. Pro gamers and MLG staffers had Halo, Halo 2 and Halo 3 tournaments and also hosted a “Halo 3 Training Camp” in which the professional gamers would watch, critique and aide newer gamers in playing the popular first-person shooter.

– Jessica Lum

The Highlights

Continue reading »

Entertainment for All Expo Pre Show Update:

Let's get one thing straight: I am excited. I can't think straight, sit still or type properly – my word processor is doing most of the spelling in this post. As I stare at the computer screen, a cold sweat has broken out over my forehead, my breaths are coming irregularly, and I'm blinking about as much as painting of myself would. My heart is quite literally pounding with excitement.

Though it may seem like I'm experiencing the early symptoms of a heart attack, my affliction goes by another name: “Super Smash Brothers Brawl.” In a few hours, I will be getting my sweaty, trembling hands on the new Wii Title “Super Smash Brothers Brawl” at Nintendo of America's booth, and I'm almost embarrassingly excited.

Let me attempt to explain the significance of this franchise. “Super Smash Brothers” is arguably the most loved franchise on the planet. When the original “Super Smash Brothers” retailed for the Nintendo 64 in 1999, anyone who owned that console and a copy of that game immediately experienced a loss of sleep and a plummeting grade point average. The formula was a strange one – Nintendo characters from various games beating each other up in familiar Nintendo stages – but the game play proved to be some of the most addicting in video game history. “Super Smash Brother Melee”, the current version of the game for the Nintendo Gamecube, took the game further, with deeper game play, more stages, and more playable and unlockable characters. This version spawned professional tournaments, with some gamers making an annual salary of up to 40000 dollars a year. The game sold more over 10 million copies, which is actually more than the number of Gamecubes sold by Nintendo. Also, I'm kind of a fan of the game myself; let's just say that yesterday when I chanced a look at my gameplay statistic for hours played, it was not a small, nor a three digit number.

Once I tear myself away from “Super Smash Brothers Brawl” though, I'll be getting my hands on “Super Mario Galaxy”, the Wii Zapper, and some innovative gaming interfaces that are also premiering at E for All. Check back for impressions.

Leave a comment »

test

Leave a comment »