Being a moderate video game nerd, I tuned in last week to the G4 network for live coverage of E3, the Electronics Entertainment Expo. Starting the whole event off was Microsoft's annual press conference, where various developers and department heads discussed new games and tech in production, with a lot of sneak peeks and teaser trailers as well as a few live demos. Nintendo and Sony, the other big console producers, were to have their conferences the next day. However, even after all three had their chance to capture the attention of the E3 crowd, one announcement seemed to stand above the rest. Microsoft unveiled its next big project, codenamed Natal.
For all who saw Natal in action, certainly it seemed to represent a possible future of video games across the board. It's only been a couple years since the Wii was released by Nintendo, and that appeared to be revolutionary with its new take on the video game controller. Now Microsoft has taken that idea one step further, by removing the controller element altogether. The idea is by using a small box attached to any Xbox 360 system equipped with 3D motion-sensing cameras and a microphone, players can use their bodies to manipulate game interfaces and actions entirely without any physical peripherals. This means that fighting games can become a serious work-out, and racing games will be able to be played easily and intuitively without needing to buy a costly racing wheel peripheral like the ones that currently retail for well over $100 for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
The power-packed camera involved can scan objects including the user's body into games, making them appear real-time in the software. The idea being that this will bring gamers even deeper into the world of video games than ever before. An example of this was when a teenage boy scanned the underside of his skateboard into his Xbox, then used it in a a skateboarding game in which he would jump and twist his feet and torso to do tricks in-game.
Another demonstration of the Natal's capabilities came in the form of a boy named Milo. This little digital boy was able to talk to real people through the camera and mic on the Natal, with a level of realism that has never been seen before in a video game. Milo was able to remember facts about people and ask them questions about their lives, as well as give real emotional responses in his discussion with those facing the TV screen. The woman demonstrating the program asked Milo if he had done his homework, only to receive a worried and slightly embarrassed facial expression in return. The final demonstration of the powerful technology involved in Natal featured the woman drawing a picture of an orange fish, holding it up to the camera, which was followed by Milo receiving the picture and commenting on it's color and shape.
A few years ago, when the current generation of consoles came out, I noticed how amazing the graphics power has become with video games. In the past a big part of the technological innovation in the world of games has been to improve the looks of games, but I feel like there is a realism wall approaching. At a certain point the graphics will no longer be able to be improved upon, and I wondered where the technology will go from there. Ideas such as Natal may be the answer I was looking for, it certainly represents a departure from the norm of video game development. No release date has been set yet, but I would imagine Natal is expected to be out winter of 2010-2011.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
UEFA Champions League Final 2009
This year, in fact mere hours from this writing, FC Barcelona and Manchester United will face off in Rome for the European soccer crown. This match is always exciting, and this particular match-up has great promise. Despite my admitted strong dislike for Man U, they have a great chance of defending their title and making it the second straight year for winning the double of Premier League and Champions League titles. However, the Barcelona side is no slouch either, and if any team in the tournament has a chance to dismantle United, FCB is it.
Barcelona have outscored opponents 34-14 thus far in the tournament, with the Argentinian Lionel Messi currently holding the #1 spot for individual goal-scorers (8 goals). Messi is not the only major scoring threat, Cameroonian Samuel Eto'o and French captain Thierry Henry can both contribute to the attack for a squad that has dismantled several teams by scores of 4-0 and 5-0 this year. Defense could be a potential weakness for Barcelona, with stars Rafael Marquez and Carles Puyol seeming to have a bit of trouble recently. Fortunately, Victor Valdes is certainly capable of clean sheets against most any team in the world. Depth also may be a soft spot for FCB, they don't seem to have quite the same quality off the bench as United.
On the other side of the coin, Manchester United seem to be extremely hard to crack this year. One would be hard pressed to find a more solid team all around, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney leading their attack. Ronaldo came in second place for most goals scored in the Premier League this season, with 18. Not quite as many as last year, probably mostly due to his stint on the sidelines after having surgery. At the moment, however, he seems fit and ready to punish Barcelona's defenders should they slip up. Goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar is also at peak form, and appears unafraid of the multi-pronged attack that Barcelona will bring. Ryan Giggs is a lynch pin in the Man United midfield, recently playing his 300th match for the club. If he is allowed to roam free and distribute the ball, FCB will be in serious trouble.
This match is a tough one to predict because of the sheer talent and ability of both teams, but I for one will be pulling for Barcelona to dethrone the defending champions. There will certainly be goals, I doubt very much either side will play a tight, conservative match until they are forced to. All that's left now is to wait and see how the ball rolls in Rome, and who comes out on top.
I predict a 2-1 victory for FC Barcelona, although if it goes to penalty kicks I think Man U will come out on top.
Barcelona have outscored opponents 34-14 thus far in the tournament, with the Argentinian Lionel Messi currently holding the #1 spot for individual goal-scorers (8 goals). Messi is not the only major scoring threat, Cameroonian Samuel Eto'o and French captain Thierry Henry can both contribute to the attack for a squad that has dismantled several teams by scores of 4-0 and 5-0 this year. Defense could be a potential weakness for Barcelona, with stars Rafael Marquez and Carles Puyol seeming to have a bit of trouble recently. Fortunately, Victor Valdes is certainly capable of clean sheets against most any team in the world. Depth also may be a soft spot for FCB, they don't seem to have quite the same quality off the bench as United.
On the other side of the coin, Manchester United seem to be extremely hard to crack this year. One would be hard pressed to find a more solid team all around, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney leading their attack. Ronaldo came in second place for most goals scored in the Premier League this season, with 18. Not quite as many as last year, probably mostly due to his stint on the sidelines after having surgery. At the moment, however, he seems fit and ready to punish Barcelona's defenders should they slip up. Goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar is also at peak form, and appears unafraid of the multi-pronged attack that Barcelona will bring. Ryan Giggs is a lynch pin in the Man United midfield, recently playing his 300th match for the club. If he is allowed to roam free and distribute the ball, FCB will be in serious trouble.
This match is a tough one to predict because of the sheer talent and ability of both teams, but I for one will be pulling for Barcelona to dethrone the defending champions. There will certainly be goals, I doubt very much either side will play a tight, conservative match until they are forced to. All that's left now is to wait and see how the ball rolls in Rome, and who comes out on top.
I predict a 2-1 victory for FC Barcelona, although if it goes to penalty kicks I think Man U will come out on top.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
No Name Creek: #1
It's been a long time coming after some complications, but here's the first of (hopefully) many comic strips of mine. I couldn't post it here, but here's the link to it :)
http://no-name-creek.blogspot.com/
http://no-name-creek.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Big Balls Reviews: The Fray
I take music seriously. Taking this into account, I've decided to review albums as I interpret them. My reviews are by no means professional in nature, I have very little experience in the way of formal critiques. In this installment, I take a look at The Fray by The Fray.
Before this, I had almost no experience with The Fray, a contemporary rock group. The album starts off strong with “Syndicate,” an up-beat number with catchy lyrics. This is possibly my favorite track. The next song is “Absolute,” which has a nice persistent and up front guitar lick throughout, something not often seen on the album. Most of their songs are extremely piano- and drum-heavy, which I suppose is an integral part of their overall presentation in general. Both of the next two tracks, “You Found Me” and “Say When” seem to use the Fray's patented formula of starting off slow and building to a high crest and following with a series of smaller downs and ups throughout the rest of the song until they end on the same tempo as they began. This creates a solid flow, however at times over the album it became slightly difficult to differentiate when one track ended and the next began if I wasn't actively paying attention. This is not necessarily a bad thing, it just shows that they had little overall variety between tracks. Track number 5, “Never Say Never,” also follows this pattern. The singer's voice has a soothing quality about it but it can be somewhat repetitive. One nice touch I noticed on this track was the inclusion of some violin work in the background which added a nice effect. “Where the Story Ends,” the next track on the album, is another of my favorites. The drum work was well recorded and provided an energized driving beat to the whole song. It seemed like a slight departure from the previous several songs pattern, which was welcome. Another standout was “Ungodly Hour,” which featured brushes on the drums. This is something that to me, seems relatively rare in modern rock songs. The acoustic guitar in the background also helped to fill out the song, contrasted with the piano's melody part. Next, we have “We Build Then We Break.” This is another of my favorite tracks, due to the excellent drum rhythms and guitar work. They even threw in some synthesizer, which only added to the song. The drum solo at 2:39 also added to the intensity of this particular track. The final track is entitled “Happiness” and brings the album back to a mellow level. It features more acoustic guitar than the others, and surprisingly low drum and piano. Another surprising element was the choir singing harmony during the final chorus in the last minute twenty.
Overall I enjoyed this album. As, again, I had little previous exposure to The Fray, I had little in the way to compare it to directly. For my taste it had a too little guitar work, and became repetitive at times. Unless you are a big fan of the group to begin with, it seems like it could be hard to listen to the whole album through without losing attention. However, the simple way I found to combat that is to stick it in a shuffle with the likes of Coldplay, Snow Patrol, and John Mayer (If you're a fan of any of those three, I would definitely recommend giving this album a listen). I found it slipped in seamlessly with other such modern rock groups and that seemed to be the best way to appreciate the album. This is a perfectly decent example of contemporary rock, and I would not be surprised to see it nominated for a Grammy or two next year.
But hey, that's just my opinion.
Before this, I had almost no experience with The Fray, a contemporary rock group. The album starts off strong with “Syndicate,” an up-beat number with catchy lyrics. This is possibly my favorite track. The next song is “Absolute,” which has a nice persistent and up front guitar lick throughout, something not often seen on the album. Most of their songs are extremely piano- and drum-heavy, which I suppose is an integral part of their overall presentation in general. Both of the next two tracks, “You Found Me” and “Say When” seem to use the Fray's patented formula of starting off slow and building to a high crest and following with a series of smaller downs and ups throughout the rest of the song until they end on the same tempo as they began. This creates a solid flow, however at times over the album it became slightly difficult to differentiate when one track ended and the next began if I wasn't actively paying attention. This is not necessarily a bad thing, it just shows that they had little overall variety between tracks. Track number 5, “Never Say Never,” also follows this pattern. The singer's voice has a soothing quality about it but it can be somewhat repetitive. One nice touch I noticed on this track was the inclusion of some violin work in the background which added a nice effect. “Where the Story Ends,” the next track on the album, is another of my favorites. The drum work was well recorded and provided an energized driving beat to the whole song. It seemed like a slight departure from the previous several songs pattern, which was welcome. Another standout was “Ungodly Hour,” which featured brushes on the drums. This is something that to me, seems relatively rare in modern rock songs. The acoustic guitar in the background also helped to fill out the song, contrasted with the piano's melody part. Next, we have “We Build Then We Break.” This is another of my favorite tracks, due to the excellent drum rhythms and guitar work. They even threw in some synthesizer, which only added to the song. The drum solo at 2:39 also added to the intensity of this particular track. The final track is entitled “Happiness” and brings the album back to a mellow level. It features more acoustic guitar than the others, and surprisingly low drum and piano. Another surprising element was the choir singing harmony during the final chorus in the last minute twenty.
Overall I enjoyed this album. As, again, I had little previous exposure to The Fray, I had little in the way to compare it to directly. For my taste it had a too little guitar work, and became repetitive at times. Unless you are a big fan of the group to begin with, it seems like it could be hard to listen to the whole album through without losing attention. However, the simple way I found to combat that is to stick it in a shuffle with the likes of Coldplay, Snow Patrol, and John Mayer (If you're a fan of any of those three, I would definitely recommend giving this album a listen). I found it slipped in seamlessly with other such modern rock groups and that seemed to be the best way to appreciate the album. This is a perfectly decent example of contemporary rock, and I would not be surprised to see it nominated for a Grammy or two next year.
But hey, that's just my opinion.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
David Beckham & the Los Angeles Debacle, Part II
So I just received the news today: Beckham is, for all intents and purposes, out. AC Milan and the Galaxy reached a deal that allowed Becks to extend his loan, so that he won't come back to the US until July (more than halfway through the regular season). In his contract he has a clause allowing a buyout at the end of the year, so he's all but done with MLS. If I were Bruce Arena (head coach of the Galaxy) I would bench his sorry ass for the few games he'll be available for. Sure it'd be a little waste of money, but that's what he has become anyway. Goodbye and good riddance, his performance at Milan will probably sag soon after they buy out his LA contract.
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