New NVIDIA nForceE 780I SLI MCP top Gaming Platform on Intel Yorkfield CPUs

Support for NVIDIA 3-Way SLITM and Extreme Overclocking Make Gamers' Wishes Come True This Holiday Season

Just in time for the big guy’s annual holiday sleigh ride, NVIDIA, the world leader in visual computing technologies, today introduced the Company’s next-generation NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI media and communications processor (MCP), designed specifically for 1333FSB Intel QX9650 (Yorkfield) processors. The new nForce 780i SLI MCP brings a multitude of new functionality to Intel platforms, including support for the new Enthusiast System Architecture specification and PCI Express Gen 2.0. It is also the first motherboard solution to also support the Company’s new 3-way SLI™ technology, the industry’s preeminent multi-GPU platform solution based on NVIDIA GeForce graphics processing units.

“Our customers aren’t going to bed with visions of sugar-plums dancing in their heads. They’re dreaming of playing games like Crysis in their entire splendor, running on NVIDIA SLI technology,” said Kelt Reeves, president of Falcon Northwest. “With nForce 780i and an Intel Yorkfield CPU under the hood, those visions will quickly become a reality. We’re excited to offer our customers fully-equipped rigs with not one, not two, but three of NVIDIA’s most extreme gaming GeForce graphics processors, the perfect platform for experiencing the most advanced games ever developed.”

NVIDIA 3-way SLI technology offers an unmatched PC gaming experience, delivering up to a 2.8x performance boost over traditional single graphics card platforms. For playing this year’s most cutting-edge games, including Crysis and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, 3-way SLI technology lets gamers ratchet up the resolution to 1900x1200 and 2500x1600 respectively, while partaking in all of the tasty eye candy, including high-dynamic range lighting, motion blur, and realistic environmental effects.

“You can forget the cookies and milk this year,” said Alabaster Snowball, administrator of the North Pole’s naughty & nice list. “What Santa really wants is the ability to play Bioshock on a new gaming rig configured with an nForce 780i SLI-based motherboard and 3-way SLI graphics.”

Global system integrators and industry-leading motherboard partners planning to offer NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI MCP-based products include: Arlt, Asus, Atelco, Biohazard Computers, Chiligreen, Colorful, CyberPower, Digital Storm, Ditech, EVGA, Falcon Northwest, Gigabyte, HP, Hypersonic, Ibuypower, K&M Elektronik, Maingear, Meijin, MSI, Puget, Rombus, Vigor Gaming, Voodoo PC, Warmachine, XFX, Xi, and more.

For more information on the NVIDIA nForce 700-series, which today include the nForce 780i SLI and nForce 750i SLI MCPs, please visit: www.nvidia.com/object/nforce7_intel.html

Top video games of 2008 for Wii XBox 360 and PS3

These are the games we are all waiting for in 2008. From Wii Fit to Resident Evil 5 - watch them all.



Watch them here... HOOQS

Indianapolis 500 Legends Video Game for Nintendo Wii and DS

Destineer’s Indianapolis 500 Legends video game for the Wii and Nintendo DS, which lets players relive the traditions, rivalries and terrifying speeds that characterized one of the most unique, exciting eras of racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, will ship to retailers Wednesday, Dec. 19.

Developed in close cooperation with IMS, Indianapolis 500 Legends puts players behind the wheel of cars driven by real-life legends like A.J. Foyt, Parnelli Jones and more. Experience the advancement in racing technology as you drive the last of the front-engine roadsters, experiment with the first turbine cars and strap on the first sets of bolt-on wings. Relive the greatest crashes, upsets and thrills with mission-based racing that puts you in control of some of the Indy 500’s most famous and infamous moments.

On both the Wii and Nintendo DS, Indianapolis 500 Legends includes exciting features such as:

• Draft, dodge and slingshot through packs of cars at speeds of up to 180 miles per hour!

• Arcade-style, pick-up-and-play action with the Wii Remote™ or Nintendo DS stylus.

• Mission-based racing highlighting the most famous moments in Indy 500 history, including Qualify, Race, Pit Stop, Pass, Time Trial, and Challenge driving missions.

• Come from behind, swerve through terrifying crashes and recreate the most exciting victories of all time!

• More than 30 Hero cars, 16 drivers, unlockable Indy memorabilia and more!

• Use the Wii Remote or Nintendo DS stylus to complete pit stop minigames like changing tires, refueling or putting out fires.

• Debris and smoke from damage turn cars into on-track hazards for other racers!

“The cars look the same, and it’s cool to see all the old drivers out there,” Indianapolis 500 veteran A.J. Foyt IV said after playing as his legendary grandfather in the game. “It’s going to be cool to be my grandfather and race against them.”

Indianapolis 500 Legends features 30 of the best drivers of the era, including Foyt, Jones, Eddie Sachs, Johnny Rutherford, the Unsers, Mario Andretti and many more.

Combining the edge-of-your-seat thrills of Indy racing and exciting technological advances of the 1960s with the all-ages accessibility of the Wii and DS, Indianapolis 500 Legends is perfect for racing fans young and old. Indianapolis 500 Legends races into stores in January 2008 from Destineer and developer Torus Games. Start your engines!

Dad Sells Son’s Guitar Hero III for $9,100 on eBay to punish him!

A 15 year old Canadian lad was caught smoking Pot in the families backyard by his father.

To teach his son a lesson the father decided to sale his “hard-to-find” Christmas gift, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, on eBay.

eBay auction listing here... http://cgi.ebay.com/Guitar-Hero-III-3-Legends-of-Rock-Wii-NEW-WITH-RECEIPT_W0QQitemZ200181539427QQihZ010QQcategoryZ62053QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

The game retails for somewhere around $90… to the amazement of pretty much everyone… the game sold for $9,100 on eBay.

Even though he was trying to get a message across to his son… he can’t argue with making $9,000 profit. But, everyone don’t worry - the kids Christmas won’t be ruined by his “experimenting” ways… the father has stated the following.

I am still considering getting him a game for his Nintendo. Maybe something like Barbie as the Island Princess or Dancing With the Stars. These games are in stock everywhere I go, and I know he will just love them.

This whole situation is quite comical… but if you want to read the whole ordeal head over to eBay .

Rock Band v Guitar Hero video game comparison

There is no more succinct way to say it. Where Guitar Hero offered the slightest taste of what it feels like to be an ax-shredding musical demigod, Rock Band goes further by adding drums and a microphone in what's likely the closest approximation to the feeling of being in a real band without, you know, actually having to learn to play real instruments.

It's also one of the few games that becomes less fun as the number of players decreases. Make no mistake: As a party game, this one's a blast.

For now, the game is sold only as a bundle, which includes the game disc, one guitar, a microphone, drumsticks and a drum kit that has four paper plate-size pads arranged in a semicircle with an attached foot pedal that sits on the ground. (Sometime next year, there are plans to sell each piece separately; however, the Xbox 360 version of Rock Band supports the wireless guitar used for Guitar Hero III.)

The guitar in Rock Band is heftier and has more buttons than the one for Guitar Hero, but the game play is similar (in other words, it's still fun, but nothing close to playing a real guitar). The singing portion is along the same lines as the Karaoke Revolution or SingStar series, although at times, you're asked to tap the microphone to simulate the playing of a tambourine or cowbell.

Where the game really shines is the drums. On the easiest level, the game eases you into the drumming by basically asking you to keep the beat while you learn the layout - the snare is on the left, with two tom-toms in the middle and a cymbal on the right. At the middle levels, you're required to mix in the bass drum (foot pedal) and perform more complicated beats, while at the highest difficulty, you're basically doing the actual drum work. Despite being a video game, the "fake" drumming isn't far off from the real thing.

While the game has solo modes for singing, lead guitar, bass guitar and drums, the best option by far is the band "world tour" mode, where two to four people form a band and play cooperatively. New bands start out in no-name dive bars, but the better your performance, the more fans you attract and the more gigs become available. Moreover, the game includes 45 licensed songs (many of them master recordings), with extra tunes available as paid downloads.

ROCK BAND. Rated "teen." For the Sony PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360.

Bottom line: At $170 ($160 for the PlayStation 2 version), the fun doesn't come cheap, but as party games go, it really doesn't get much better.

Source: Newsday

Characters Get Tattooed by Brooklyn Heights Artist for MTV Video Game Rock Band

Suerte’s Designs Featured in ‘Rock Band’

The blood and the ink were still fresh, and a paper towel was taped to his chest, when Adam Suerte sat down for the interview.
He was sipping on a Jack Daniels-and-Coke to relieve some of the pain. For nearly three hours, the tattoo gun was in someone else’s hand, for a change -- and it was Suerte’s skin that was getting pounded and pierced with needles.

The local tattoo artist, who works out of his shop at 99 Atlantic Ave., got his chest tattooed with a drawing he had sketched over the summer. A cartoon rendering of a streetlamp with sneakers hanging from it, it is the exact same design that millions of video-game enthusiasts from around the world are getting “tattooed” on them this month.

The streetlamp tattoo is just one of Suerte’s designs that appear on the “skin” of the video-game characters in “Rock Band.” The new hit game, which was released several weeks ago, as a more complex successor to the popular “Guitar Hero” games, allows several players to play instruments in a rock band, rather than just play guitar.

“It replaces karaoke for the most part,” Suerte, said. “Before the game was even finished being designed, there was five million pre-sold.”

The “Rock Band” video game, available for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, was designed by Harmonix Music Systems, which is now owned by MTV Networks, having acquired the corporation after the worldwide success of the “Guitar Hero” games.

Suerte, 38, who admittedly doesn’t play video games, knew of the “Guitar Hero” craze from local neighborhood bars, such as Camp on Smith Street, which actually hosts weekly competitions. So when Suerte was approached this summer by one of the game’s designers who was familiar with his artwork, Suerte immediately agreed to illustrate the fictional tattoos.

More from: Brooklyn Eagle

Best 30 games of the year 2007 - Next Gen

They're calling it the best year ever. If so, which games really made it one to remember? Next-Gen picks out and ranks the best 30 games of 2007.

2007 was a great year for videogames. This year saw some of the best games hit store shelves and online storefronts, and in the US, we’re on track for a record sales year.

What we have on the following pages are the 30 games this year that we consider best-of-the-best. With so many strong titles available, it was at times almost physically painful to cut certain games from the list. We took a variety of factors into consideration for this particular list, such as a game’s innovation, execution of technical components, commercial and cultural impact, and above all, how fun and/or memorable a game is. Sometimes where genres overlapped, the lesser representations had to be axed, unless of course those "lesser" games also achieved something remarkable this year.

30 Contra 4—DS Konami, WayForward

29 Pokemon Diamond/Pearl—DS Nintendo, Game Freak

28 Peggle—PC PopCap

27 Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock—multi Activision, Neversoft

26 MotorStorm—PS3 SCEA, Evolution Studios

25 Skate—Xbox 360, PS3 EA, EA Black Box

24 MLB Power Pros—Wii, PS2 2K Sports, Konami

23 Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaro’s Treasure—Wii

22 Warhawk—PS3 SCEA, Incognito

21 Virtua Fighter 5—PS3, Xbox 360 Sega, AM2

20 Super Stardust HD—PS3 (PSN) SCEA, Housemarque

19 Supreme Commander—PC THQ, Gas Powered Games

18 Forza Motorsport 2 Microsoft

17 Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords—multi D3, Infinite Interactive

16 Mass Effect—Xbox 360 Microsoft, BioWare

15 Assassin’s Creed—PS3, Xbox 360 Ubisoft, Ubisoft Montreal

14 Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction—PS3 SCEA, Insomniac Games

13 Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune—PS3 SCEA, Naughty Dog

12 Metroid Prime 3: Corruption—Wii Nintendo, Retro Studios

11 Crysis—PC EA, Crytek

TOP TEN

10 Pac-Man Championship Edition—XBLA Namco Bandai

09 World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade—PC Vivendi Games, Blizzard

08 God of War II—PS2 SCEA

07 The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass—DS Nintendo

06 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare—PC, Xbox 360, PS3 Activision, Infinity Ward

05 Halo 3—Xbox 360 Microsoft, Bungie

04 The Orange Box—PC, Xbox 360, PS3 EA, Valve

03 BioShock—PC, Xbox 360 2K Games, 2K Boston/2K Australia

02 Rock Band—Xbox 360, PS3, PS2 MTV Games, EA, Harmonix

01 Super Mario Galaxy—Wii Nintendo

Source: Next Generation

BioShock video game Triumphs at TV Video Game Awards

BioShock, the moody, elegant adventure from Take-Two, continued its romp through the year-end video game awards season on Monday as it took the top prize in the awards presented by “X-Play,” the G4 television channel’s video game program.

BioShock emerged in August with relatively little advance publicity to captivate players with its tense yet melancholy mood, rich voice acting and exciting action. The title, which is available for PCs and the Xbox 360 console, won the top prize at the Spike network’s annual awards earlier this month.

The “X-Play Best of 2007” awards broadcast was scheduled to have its premiere on Monday with the program’s regular hosts, Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb. The network plans to unveil a new format for “X-Play” next month, adding more news and demonstrations to its range of reviews.

In addition to the top prize, BioShock also won the award for best art direction, writing and original soundtrack. The other nominees for best game were Assassin’s Creed, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Halo 3, Mass Effect and Super Mario Galaxy.

Each of those games was released after BioShock, perhaps overwhelming gamers. The industry is usually focused on the holiday season, but by coming out in the summer, BioShock appeared to generate momentum among fans before the autumn deluge.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the G4 awards, which are chosen by staff members of “X-Play,” was that the much-ballyhooed Halo 3 was shut out after being nominated in six categories. Thousands camped outside of stores in September to buy that game when it was first released, and it has sold millions of copies as the flagship title for Microsoft’s Xbox 360.

Yet despite its enhanced graphics, Halo 3 has come to generate a “more of the same” feeling for many players. While Halo focuses on high-octane futuristic combat, BioShock is a more intimate, psychologically engaging experience built around a provocative, intellectually mature story.

In addition to BioShock, two other titles won multiple awards. Activision’s Call of Duty 4 won for best shooter and sound design. The puzzle game Portal (from Valve) won for most original and for best new character.

Source: New York Times

ONLINE TEAM PLAY RELEASED FOR NBA LIVE 08

Online Team Play Enables 5 Friends To Play On One Team

Electronic Arts has released a free downloadable feature called Online Team Play for NBA LIVE 08 that will enable 10 people on 10 different consoles anywhere in the world to connect online to play a single match. The new feature is automatically available for the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system when connected online. It will be available on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system later this month.

In NBA LIVE 08, all 10 players on the floor can now be controlled by individual users on 10 different consoles, removing the use of artificial intelligence altogether. Player movement, decision making and game outcome can now be completely dependant on how you play as an online team, bringing you closer to a real life game of basketball than ever before. This new game mode enables any number of players from one to five on different consoles to connect and play online against another team of up to five players on five different consoles. The CPU will take control of any players not controlled by users.

NBA LIVE 08 is available at retailers everywhere. The game’s official website is www.easports.com/nbalive08.com.

EA - Tiberium video game tactical first-person shooter set in the Command & Conquer universe due in 2008

EA ANNOUNCES DEVELOPMENT OF TIBERIUM

Tactical first-person shooter set in the Command & Conquer universe due for autumn 2008 release

Electronic Arts today revealed it is developing Tiberium, a new game that brings a rich, original fiction to life through intense tactical action and visceral first-person shooting. Set in a stunning sci-fi world with spectacular visual effects and dramatic environments, Tiberium takes players on an adventure through a devastated Earth and places them in the heart of an epic battle for control of a powerful energy source.

Tiberium is a mysterious extraterrestrial crystal that shatters the energy output of traditional fossil fuels. It has the power to save our civilization; it also has the power to destroy it. For eleven years, an alien tower has stood dormant, looming like an unholy mountain over a wasteland once known as the Mediterranean Sea. The tower was thought to be a relic of the Third Tiberium War; a devastating war fought for control over Tiberium crystal. It is not a relic. It is not dormant. Deep within the tower, plans are in motion for an alien invasion. This is where the Tiberium adventure begins.

Players step into the shoes of Forward Battle Commander Ricardo Vega and will assemble an assortment of elite squads to combat the global crisis. Armed with an arsenal of weapons including a transforming personal weapon system, multi-launch homing missiles, capital ship bombardments and tactical ion cannon strikes, Vega will lead the fight from the front lines.

Featuring a unique blend of first-person shooting and tactical squad combat, players will control multiple infantry, armour, and air squads as the fight escalates. In Tiberium, Vega is the most powerful presence on the battlefield, and the squads are his most decisive weapon. Players can take multi-squad control combat into single-player or bring the action into online multiplayer battles.

Chris Plummer, executive producer at EA Los Angeles, said: “After two years of pre-production, it is exciting to finally reveal this game and its rich fiction to the world. We’ve put a lot of effort into evolving the tactical shooter experience by taking core gameplay compulsions like commanding, choice and dominating your enemies and delivering them in first-person. Some of the weapons and mechanics are truly innovative for a first-person game. We’re very proud to be part of a project that has the potential to really make a mark on the canon of sci-fi fantasy fiction.”

Mike Verdu, VP and General Manager at EA Los Angeles added, “EALA has a long history of developing groundbreaking real-time strategy games with the Command & Conquer series. That series also originally introduced the Tiberium universe to gamers worldwide. Now, we are growing Tiberium from a simple backdrop to a fully realized universe with its own unique, hybrid squad-based shooter gameplay. This is the birth of a new franchise - we couldn’t be more excited.”

Developed at EA Los Angeles, Tiberium will be available worldwide in autumn 2008 for the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system, and PC. The game has not yet been rated by PEGI.