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Now Playing: The Inquisitr
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How a hamster helped develop Super Mario Galaxy
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The Inquisitr 39 mins ago, 174 words
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That up there is Shigeru Miyamoto (left, not right). As the creator of Donkey Kong, Mario, and Zelda, he’s pretty much the Orson Welles, Martin Scorsese, and Francis Ford Coppola of videogames. The dude’s pretty damn important. Almost as famous as Miyamoto’s games are the things that inspire them. Zelda came from Miyamoto playing outside and exploring as a child, while Nintendogs came from his hobby as a semi-professional dog-breeder. And 2007’s Super Mario Galaxy? Well obviously that was inspired by ... er, hamsters. The game is famous for its 3D planetoid levels, which saw players running about over spherical worlds, a typically unique approach to the traditional platform game. At a recent Japanese games roundtable discussion, Miyamoto revealed that this was to prevent players getting lost. However, it wasn’t until the Miyamoto family hamster rolled past in his hamster ball that the idea became reality. And thus, a hamster helped develop Super Mario Galaxy. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of hearing Miyamoto’s charming and wacky influences. [Via Kotaku]
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BioShock 2: Review Round-up
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The Inquisitr 1 hrs ago, 409 words
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Along with Bayonetta and Mass Effect 2, BioShock 2 is one of the early big-hitters of 2010, and hits stores tomorrow. Does it match up to its rivals? Heck, more to the point, does it equal its predecessor, a wonderfully atmospheric romp and many people’s game of the year in 2007? Let’s equip the Review Round-up plasmid and find out:
Wired (full review here) suggest there may be too many new power-ups (“you're loaded down with way too much stuff”), but the less linear levels, a greater emphasis on exploration, and an engaging story all earned brownie points: “[Developer] 2K Marin did a great job. It chose elements of the first game that presented opportunities to be expanded upon, created new environments and characters that fit neatly into the universe and orchestrated a few surprising, engaging moments.“
9/10 Destructoid (full review here) splits its write-up between the single-player campaign and hotly-debated multiplayer mode. In short: single-player good, multiplayer ... ehh, s’alright: “BioShock 2’s single-player campaign trades in some narrative quality for superior gameplay, and it’s a fair trade indeed. No, BioShock 2 may not feel like a fantastic follow-up to its predecessor, but it still feels like a part of its universe. It also throws in its own memorable set pieces, and quite a few terrific characters. [...] The multiplayer can be fun, but it can easily come off as gimmicky.“
8/10 1UP (full review here) praises the more tactical combat and production values, but isn’t convinced the narrative lives up to that of the original title: “If you were hoping for another chance to jump in and explore Rapture, BioShock 2 probably won’t disappoint you, but you’re not getting the same caliber of twisted, engaging story this time around. It’s a standard, straightforward tale, with a few too many holes to be called truly “great,” but it’s still a fun ride.“
B+ Eurogamer (full review here) questions how much free will BioShock 2 really grants players, but liked the story (once it got going): “The single-player campaign is still the main event. It will and should be damned for its long, slow start, during which the game struggles to make its intentions clear, but once past that the developers find a new tempo that wrings just enough extra quality out of the existing framework to justify your patience.”
8/10
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Google set to "make GMail social" with announ...
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The Inquisitr 3 hrs ago, 346 words
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In the dearth of tech ambiguity following the iPad announcement last month, Google has stepped forward to provide us with a day of speculation. Since we’ve only got until 10am PDT tomorrow (1pm Eastern) we’d better cram it all in now. It will be revolutionary! It’s screwing with our GMail. Privacy concerns! I’m going back to AOL! Change the way we look at e-mail... Maybe it will be as hot as Google Wave! As with the iPad, while the tech blogosphere loses its collective shit over GMail changes, no one is really exactly clear on what is to be unveiled tomorrow at the Google event. Most speculation is based on a piece in the WSJ that cites “unnamed sources,” and broadly describes something designed to “take a swipe at Facebook” involving “status updates.” According to the WSJ's unnamed sources, the new feature would be a "module" in Gmail where users can click through to see a stream of friends' updates, YouTube video sharing and Picasa photos. It would be an extension of Gmail's instant-messenger style status messages, which are displayed along with presence information and currently aren't archived for search or perusal.
I will don my speculation hat for a minute here and say that while Google innovations are generally decent, this one sounds a bit iffy. Google already doesn’t seem to have a good grasp on who my friends are based on e-mail, and with its long memory, this status update thing could create a lot of noise in the popular GMail service. I’m also dismayed at the trend towards making all things be all things to all people. Just like cellphone cameras and computer based movie viewing apps don’t live up to their dedicated counterparts, I like my email in my email and my status updates on Facebook and Twitter. Google could pull off something compelling here, but until the announcement is made to define the new product, we don’t know. And I’m worried- GMail’s contextual advertising already knows way too much about my life. [Image]
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Verizon Wireless blocks 4chan?
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The Inquisitr 7 hrs ago, 492 words
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Although user reports about 4chan access on Verizon Wireless vary, the 4chan status blog reports that Verizon may have taken the inadvisable step of “explicitly” blocking the site. 4chan is famous in part for large scale retaliation against such censorship, and the internet is gleefully rubbing its sweaty palms together in anticipation of shenanigans against Verizon for blocking the popular imageboard. Moot has posted twice on the 4chan status blog seemingly confirming that the lack of access was a conscious decision by someone at Verizon: Over the past 72 hours, we’ve been receiving reports from Verizon Wireless customers having difficulty accessing the image boards. After investigating, we found that Verizon is dropping traffic to/from boards.4chan.org, only on port 80 (HTTP). No other subdomain/IP/port is affected, which leads us to believe this block is intentional. A call was placed to their support staff last night, and we were told that the ticket would not be looked at until Monday at the earliest, and: “You’ll need the customer to call to request it be unblocked...” If you’ve been affected by this block, please contact Verizon Wireless customer support. The numbers we were given are: “Verizon Wireless NRB: (866) 298-5373? and “Verizon Wireless DSO: (800) 770-1179?. Note: Users with mobile browsers that proxy (BlackBerry, Opera) won’t necessarily have issues accessing the boards.
And the follow up: After an hour and a half on the phone, we’ve received confirmation from Verizon’s Network Repair Bureau (NRB) that we are “explicitly blocked.” If you’ve been affected by the block, please call Verizon NRB at (866) 298-5373 to file a complaint. EDIT: If NRB can’t help you, try Verizon Wireless Support at (800) 922-0204.
The Washington Post reports that if the site was deliberately blocked due to off-color content, Verizon may be violating FCC rules: If true, the move would violate guidelines by the Federal Communications Commission that prohibit Internet service providers such as Verizon, AT&T and Comcast from shutting down Web sites for their subscribers. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is crafting controversial regulations that would make those principles stronger and allow the agency to punish companies that don’t treat all content equally on the Web.
However, a series of tweets just posted on the account of a man who describes himself as the “Verizon Wireless PR Guy” rapidly back away from the suggestion that the 4chan block was intentional: @jlist No 4Chan block, but protecting network for users always top priority.
Buby23 4Chan has green-light again. Never a block on 4Chan but some of its other sites were launching network attacks.
@mediagadfly Some 4Chan web sites potentially disruptive of Verizon network now have green-light. We are monitoring network for harm
If that’s the position they’re taking, I hope they’ll take the time to explain why a representative for Verizon seems to have indicated otherwise. Update: The PR rep above denies Verizon blocked 4chan for content: Verizon doesn’t monitor wireless web connections for content, communication type or style. We will ward off attacks on our network.
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The First Softbelly Inquisitr MTUB Poker Night
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The Inquisitr 17 hrs ago, 155 words
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The Softbelly Bar, along with The Inquisitr are proud to sponsor and present the first Melbourne Twitter (#MTUB) Poker Night. The night has a maximum number of 32, and will play poker in MTUB’s favorite bar Softbelly, 367 Little Bourke St, Melbourne. Time: February 24, starting at 6 p.m. Register here and numbers are strictly limited. The only condition for entry is that you MUST have a Twitter account of good standing; that is, not 1 day old, and opened just to qualify for the event. There will also be a cash prize and some free drinks for those who register (hopefully one each.) Talking to organizer Lucas Sharwood we’d hope to make this something more than an annual thing, but that is dependent on numbers at the first one. Please join us. Register here, and meet some great Twitter people over the game delivered by the gods.
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