Konami Licenses Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3 for “Saw II: The Game”

So Konami is licensing the Unreal Engine from my neighbors, Epic Games… for a horror game based on the Saw films. Does this seem weird to anyone else? Ok… I guess I associate Konami with Lost in Blue and DDR, not bloody gory games.

CARY, N.C., June 24, 2010 – Epic Games, Inc. announced today that Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. has licensed its Unreal Engine 3 for “Saw II: The Game,” an upcoming third-person survivor horror sequel developed by Zombie Studios for Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation(R)3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC.

Based on the fictional universe of the “Saw” movie series, “Saw II” takes place between the first two films and introduces a new twist on Jigsaw’s sinister traps and puzzles in the most intense look into the “Saw” universe ever. “Saw II” features a new combat system, clever ways to fight off enemies using the environment, and highly realistic graphics powered by the latest Unreal Engine 3 technology.

“Licensing Unreal Engine 3 was an easy decision for us,” said Careen Yapp, vice president of acquisitions and franchise development at Konami. “The engine’s new and improved features, time-saving tools and exceptional support system make it the best choice for the ‘Saw’ property.”

“I’ve used other game engines, I’ve written my own, I’ve used middleware and I’ve shipped sequels for franchises using other studios’ tech set, and I prefer Unreal Engine 3 over all of them,” said Mark Long, chief executive officer of Zombie Studios. “The quickest way to reduce risk is to use a known, proven toolset. With Unreal Engine 3, I can promise publishers what I can deliver, and I deliver on time. Every time.”

“Saw II” will be Zombie Studios’ ninth title and fourth franchise shipped with the Unreal Engine.

“It’s always rewarding to support repeat customers with our engine technology,” said Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games. “Konami is a fantastic publisher, and Zombie has great success shipping Unreal-powered games, so we’re eager to see how the new ‘Saw’ game unfolds.”

“Saw II: The Game” is scheduled to be released globally in fall 2010 to coincide with the release of the film, “Saw VII.” To download “Saw II: The Game” screenshots, the logo or trailer, visit http://www.konami.com/GamersNight/.

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High Voltage Relaunch and Giveaway

High Voltage Software is celebrating their new website, and 16 years of game development by giving away T-shirt and a Wii. They say:

Only one entry per person please. Be sure to include your full name and address so we know where to send the package to the next lucky winner. Just email merchandise@high-voltage.com and you will be automatically entered through the magic of the Internet.

Via High Voltage Software : Cutting Edge Video Game Development for Next Generation Platforms.

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Shame on University Games

I saw this when I was Christmas shopping the other night. If you can’t see my cellphone snap properly, this is a “Game for Boys”.  What makes it a game for boys? Um… Maybe some of the activities inside required male parts, but the sample questions on the box were to say hello in languages other than English and to recite the Gettysburg address, which both seem like non-gendered trivia questions to me. There was no corresponding girls’ game, so I don’t know whether it would be of the “math is hard!” variety or the same thing in pink.

Shame on University Games for this one. I expected better from the people who brought us Colorforms.

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Geek Pranks!

I saw this today on Top 10 Harmless Geek Pranks – Lifehacker Australia, as mentioned on Mental Floss

5. Message Co-Workers with NET SEND

Hidden
in the depths of the Windows command line is a nifty little utility
called Net Send, which pops up very official-looking alert messages on
any computer you send them to. If you know your co-workers’ IP address,
you can net send them goofy messages, like this person on the Geeknewz boards:

A
good prank that I have played on some friends involves the net send
command. What I did was I used the net send command to send a message
that said “Microsoft has detected that you have a small penis. Please
consider upgrading for better performance” to other people on my local
network. When you use the net send command in the command prompt, you
specify the computer you want it sent to by typing the computer name,
it also says on the message which computer it came from, so I changed
my computer name to Microsoft, so it appeared, to the technically
challenged, that the message actually came from Microsoft. In case you
were interested, the syntax for the net send is:

net send computername message

Here’s more on how to use net send.

Sadly Windows Vista doesn’t have net send anymore so it’s harder to do this prank. I do like some of the other pranks, like a blue screen of death screensaver.

We used to make Basic programs to look like a DOS prompt, and respond to input with error messages, and finally a crash message, and leave the dummy DOS running for the next class to come in… I guess I’m old school!

Via Top 10 Harmless Geek Pranks – Lifehacker Australia

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Test Final Fantasy XI For Free

Final Fantasy is one of my all time favorite games. I like playing adventure games as i told you before. Games like Warcraft and Final Fantasy are a great fun to play and they help you in building up a strategic mind. These games are story based and take you in a different world which is full of fantasy. And guess what, i have got a great news for Final Fantasy fans. If you wanted to check out Final Fantasy XI then your wait is over. Square Enix is offering a 14-day trial version of Final Fantasy XI and now you don’t need a credit card for checking it out. The only thing you need is a valid email address. When you trial period is over, you can activate a paid account which will allow you to save your progress. So, make sure you don’t miss out this wonderfull opportunity.

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Wizard 101

Simpson’s Paradox on Wizard 101

I was predisposed to like the new Wizard 101
game. It’s not exactly a secret that I love Harry Potter, and the game
promises to be a wizard school MMOPRG. The game is adorable from the
first loading screen. They’ve got a Wizard 101 gallery
on the website, but it doesn’t do justice to the fantastic sketch
drawings and handwritten notes, or the cheery game characters.

I was asked not to post screenshots, as the game’s still in beta, so
you’re just going to have to believe me that one teacher is a
qipao-clad animated cow. And there’s an attack leprechaun. Even the
menu screens are draw like clickable classroom doodles. If I could post
just one screenshot, it would be the stick figure cartoons on the map
and in the margins… a girl and a boy who are always getting into
mischief. Also, I would put a pair of glasses on the girl!

The Wizard 101 quests are flavored with mixed-up fairy tales and
subtle puns for adult players. While the quests themselves are the
usual fare of “kill 5 baddies” or “return this item to an NPC”, they’re
mixed with a Fairground of minigames. The minigames are quick casual
games, a bit like the puzzle games in Neopets.
The point of the Fairgrounds is to recharge your mana and make a few
coins, but I really liked Potion Motion. (Ok, I should come clean about
this. If I’m talking on the phone, I’m probably playing a casual game
at the same time. Thus, Neopets.)

Usable items don’t give a visual sign on mouseover, which made it
hard to tell if I could open doors or pick things up. I got frustrated
as I tried to pick up items that were just part of the scenery. Games
have changed… when I was a wee lass, we pocketed everything not nailed
down! You can, however, tell whether you can enter a building based on
the color of the windows. If they’re dark, no one’s home. If they’re
yellow, come on in! Bluish lights indicate an errand for you inside,
usually the location of your quest or battle.

Combat is animated magical attacks, in turns between players and bad
guys. The villains disappear when they’re thwarted, players are
teleported home to recoup. I think the bloodless combat caters to tween
girls, without going the annoying all-pink route.

The combay system is based on learning spells and adding them to
your deck, collectible card game style. When I’ve played card games, I
can never remember what all the little symbols describing the card
mean. Icons are just the nature of squeezing a complicated system on to
card, so I’m frustrated that a computer game doesn’t allow you to click
the icons and find out what they mean. There is a help section for
looking up the icons when you’re not actually in combat, but Wizard 101
seems to be missing what makes computer games superior to card games,
it seems like a huge oversight not to have clickable card info.

Maybe the plan is to branch out into a collectible card game, some
of the some of the “gold” cards as random rewards really seem like
specials in sealed packs.

The game is intended for tweens, and I was a little annoyed by all
the safety controls. Users must be over 13 to even have access to chat.
Also, you can’t pick your own name, there’s a spinner that chooses a
first name and a two-part last name (something like Starspinner or
Whitethorn). You can set the spinner to your favorite combination, but
there’s no chance to make up your own name. While it does eliminate the
players running around cleverly named “YOURMOMSUCKS”, it’s billed as a
safety feature, forbidding kids to use their real names and identifying
information, and I think it’s taking ‘net safety a bit too far.

In general, I think internet safety programs are a waste of time,
they’re treating the symptom and not the disease. Sadly, there are bad
people who’ll hurt children. Kids should learn general safety rules,
like not telling strangers their address and what time Mommy isn’t
home, and then be reminded to apply those rules in the game as well.
There are potential problems with wee ones playing online and
innocently telling the wrong person their address, but a chat filter
can’t substitute for good parents teaching their kids about stranger
safety and making sure those rules are followed. I haven’t seen a chat
filter that you can’t get around if you’re really determined to swear,
you could probably get around this one as well.

I’ll stop here before getting into my usual rant about how game
companies shouldn’t be expected to parent. Occupational hazard of being
a twentysomething gamergirl, I guess.

Via Simpson’s Paradox » Blog Archive » Wizard 101

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Video Games Cause Chuck E. Cheese Violence

A shocking post on PlayGirlz talks about kids’ videogaming leading to violence… between their mothers.

Talk about leading by example. An argument between two Massachusetts moms came to blows in defense of their sons’ gaming habits. At a Chuck E. Cheese.

This is not an early April Fool’s gag folks, this is an accurate representation of the current state of humanity. Apparently Mom A got a little cranky at the restaurant cum playland when Mom B’s little darling hogged an arcade game. Mom B apparently didn’t like Mom A’s tone and soon the cops had to be called in to separate the tousling pair.

Both are now charged with simple assault and battery and even more importantly, their children have learned that even the most mundane of problems can be addressed using violence. No word on what the arcade game actually was, or exactly how a youngster hogging a video game could so enrage supposedly mature adults, but hey, maybe Jack Thompson has been right all along…

Good thing the kids weren’t playing ice hockey, then things could really have gotten out of hand.

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No One Talks About Violent Board Games

In 2006, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius supported behind a proposal to legislate video game sales, to prevent violent content from reaching minors.

Now, the govenor’s son John is marketing a board game called Don’t Drop the Soap, where the object is to steal drugs and shank fellow prisoners.

The governor’s spokeswoman, Nicole Corcoran, said both parents “are very proud of their son John’s creativity and talent.”

John Sebelius is selling the game on his Internet site for $34.99… The contact information on the Web site lists the address of the governor’s mansion.

So… did she change her mind completely in two years? Violent games where you push buttons are bad, but violent games when you roll dice are fine? Violent games should be kept from under-18s, but her own son’s violent board game is available online! (Check it out here. Don’t Drop The Soap isn’t quite my cup of tea, but I think some gaming groups would have a laugh with it.)

Read the whole article at GamePolitics.com

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WarCraft Laptop

Dell’s new laptop is just for WarCraft players. ExtremeTech offers the basic stats:

Intel Core 2 Extreme X7900 CPU at 2.8GHz
2GB dual channel DDR-667 memory
2 x 200GB hard drives, set up as a 400GB RAID 0 array
2 x Nvidia 8700M GT GPUs in SLI configuration (each with 512MB of video memory)
AGEIA PhysX 100M physics processor
Integrated HD audio with Creative Labs Audigy software stack
Intel 802.11 a/g/n wireless networking plus integrated gigabit Ethernet for wired connections
Windows Vista Ultimate Edition preinstalled

More importantly for WoW fans, the laptop comes with World Of WarCraft, and the expansion Burning Crusade, along with other WoW spinoffs like a DVD, Azeroth novels and a soundtrack. The laptop itself is customizable for Alliance or Horde. The kayboard is WoW-friendly, and it offers some pretty WarCraft backgrounds (in case you can’t download one or use your own screenshot).

And it includes (from ExtremeTech again):

You also get something called a “Quest Envelope.” This includes a Blizzard beta key card with five keys that can be used in upcoming WoW betas, plus an upgrade certificate that upgrades accounts to the “Collector’s Edition” level, and gives the player a special in-game pet.

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Best of Niner Niner September 06

In Blogging Naked, Britain holds their first masturbate-a-thon and in China they put an end to funeral stripteases

And in Bookadoodle Nancy Callahan continues her Getting Published series, while Starbucks sells childrens books and publishers contine to make billions

Next up in Boomer 2.0 scientists try to map our neanderthal genes

The unemployed get credit cards in Credit Cardenza

Dealsneak continues to show the latest deal around the web with cheap wine, free products, and discounts.

Jewel thieves, Kiwi casino, and another poker pub strategy article all sweep into Games For Money.

High Heels Blog: Nancy gives us a look at ballet inspired heels and Victoria Secrets peeptoe wedges.

In Hipaa Blog VA data is lost once again.

Over at HyperGadget we see that Ditty is no more, a real universal remote control can really control the universe, and microchipped passports.

In the Medcare Forum Doctor Medicare payments are cut and low income families should apply for medicaid.

On Healthy Living: Learn 5 good and bad cholesterols, answer the question: Which Has More Germs, Cell Phone or Toilet Seat? and try these Delicious Seafood and Fish Recipes

Head over to On Movies and read Leafworks reviews on movies such as Snakes on A Plane, RV, Final Destination 3, The Descent, and John Tucker Must Die

Powersellers Blog shows that Ebayers are still mad at the rate increases, Ebay Pays Attention to Shipping abuse and Nancy tells about selling in Squidoo.

SEO Updates: Google finally updated Blogger, Yahoo gets hit by a worm and Subtle copy changes can make a difference

In The Diet Logs, Nancy shows us how the 10 Slim-Down Strategies and The Antidote for a High-Fat Meal

Look for the dysfunction in The Single Life, perfect your pickup lines and then head over to Fallout

Wander Worlds: Honesty isn’t always best, leafworks reviews The Siren Project, Lipgloss, and Faith and the Muse.

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Free DDR Pad!

Ok, I’m not sure I really understand this one. This link will get you a Dance Dance Revolution – type pad (USB compatible) and a downloadable DDR game. You’ll need a credit card to pay the $6 for shipping, though. This offer is good until next year. The weird part is that it’s from Kraft, AKA Phillip Morris.  Weird, huh? Oh well, don’t look a gift game in the mouth.

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Ladies, Forget Bra Burning…

… in fact, forget bra wearing while you’re at it! Ah, we kid the womens, but seriously: Were you offended by 1UP.com’s top ten list of “girlfriend-friendly games” (which included Ms. f’in Pac-man)? We totally were. But instead of macing the writer or kneeing him in his woman-hating nuts, why not apply for a scholarship to EA’s USC summer video camp and prove to the world that not only do chicks (usually*) have good taste in games, they can develop them, too:

The company said Wednesday that any female junior or senior student in high school can apply for a scholarship to attend the four-week Interactive Entertainment summer camp organized by USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering. The scholarship covers admission to the camp, room and board at USC, and three college credits for successfully completing the program. EA said the inaugural camp in 2004 failed to draw any female students, so it is hoping that the scholarship will encourage more young women to attend. Applications can be sent to ea-usc-scholarship@ea.com until May 15.

* DDR and Barbie Fashion Pack being the obvious exceptions.

EA funds scholarship for USC video game camp [ZDNet]

Top Ten Girlfriend-Friendly Games [1UP.com via Kotaku]

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