- Gaming
Destiny could be the game you have been waiting for
Posted by ebongeek in Gaming, Geek Stuff on February 17, 2013
Destiny the new upcoming game franchise from Bungie promises to be its biggest and most ambitious project yet. From what’s been released thus far Destiny looks truly awe-inspiring to say the least. It is as if the team at Bungie reached into the deepest dreams of every Sci-Fi fan on the planet and extracted out the pure essence of a kind of world we always hoped for and knew was somehow possible but never expected to ever truly see or experience in any tangible way other than inside our imagination. They have taken that feeling of wonder and emotion you experience from the best of Sci-Fi cover art and fleshed it out into a world that looks lived in and plausible. A world not like Star Wars, not like HALO, not like Mass Effect but something wonderfully and refreshingly new.
http://www.destinythegame.com/
The Oculus Rift
In the 90′s virtual reality was touted to be the next great leap in computer interface technology. The idea was to combine a stereoscopic head mounted display, interface glove and real-time head tracking to create a 3D immersive experience in an entirely computer generated environment. The problem was these early displays designs were often bulky and very expensive. The sensor technology used for head tracking twenty two years ago was slow and the displays never provided a truly immersive experience. What makes the Oculus Rift unique is the use of the latest lightweight, high density, low cost display and sensor technology to provide a wide 110 degree diagonal field of view for the user. The Oculus Rift is generating interest from the world’s top game designers. For the first time a truly affordable stereoscopic head mounted display is now much closer to entering into the mainstream.
Find Out More
http://oculusvr.com/press_release/
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1523379957/oculus-rift-step-into-the-game
“The Last Of Us” Looks Quite Simply Amazing
Posted by MachineElf in Gaming, Opinion on June 5, 2012
The soon to be released “The Last Of Us” from Naughty Dog looks quite simply amazing. Judging from the trailer that was shown at E3 2012 we don’t know if it was a pandemic plague, a zombie apocalypse, an alien invasion, or the fulfillment of Mayan prophesy but something happened to transform this world into a post apocalyptic wasteland fit only for the cleaver, crafty and strong willed to survive. In our post nine eleven reality it seems (in US at least) we are absolutely obsessed with the idea of the collapse of American civilization, which is often what makes games in this genre so popular. On one level the fall of civilization is greatly feared and there is a great anxiety built up around the notion that if we don’t “change course” somehow a post apocalyptic future awaits us. We seem to be unable or unwilling to actually do the necessary thing (whatever it is) to avoid it. Strangely apocalyptic fantasy continues to occupy a kind of dark fantasy someplace deep within the psyche of the western mind. Perhaps games like this serve as a kind of psychological release valve for the ever increasing anxiety many feel when they try to think on what the future may hold.
Visit the official The Last of Us website at: http://www.thelastofus.com/
Visit http://www.naughtydog.com/
You can also follow TLOU on…
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/naughtydog
Twitter: http://twitter.com/naughty_dog
Check out all the latest E3 2012 Coverage
SWTOR Takes The World by Storm
What better way to celebrate the holidays than to spend countless hours with friends and family playing Star Wars Old Republic the new MMO from Bioware. Ebongeek staff has been absolutely immersed in this game since early launch, as a result our staff has walked away from World Of Warcraft as its lore sadly drifts into a rather absurd state of “panda-monium” . Fortunately, Star Wars Old Republic is similar in many ways to World Of Warcraft but as good as it is Bioware will need to continuously improve the game if they want to keep subscribers happy. Leveling is decently paced, the user interface is simple and easy to use but needs more customization options, space combat needs a major EVE style overhaul given that the current build is quite simply space combat on rails. However despite its few short comings Star Wars Old Republic is an outstanding game so get out there and “Choose Your Side”.
Read More: Star Wars: The Old Republic Review
So You Are A Gamer?
Posted by ebongeek in Gaming, Singularity News on September 5, 2011
Despite over 25 years of existence, billions in profits and millions of players worldwide video games continue to struggle for respectability and mainstream recognition as a legitimate form of entertainment not just for adolescents but people of all ages and from all walks of life. The players are consistently stereotyped in popular media as introverted, overweight, unemployed people (largely male) that lack social skills, live in their parents basements and are hopelessly emotionally bound to their computers, the internet and their video games. But the truth about gamers, who they are and why they play may surprise you. The individuals that comprise gaming culture is estimated in the tens of millions, it is global, competitive, highly influential and growing. Despite this growth and increasing popularity, gaming is largely ignored by sociologists. Video games are used and feared by governments, parents groups and most notably by people that have never experienced gaming culture. The documentary “Gamer Revolution” takes a look at gamer culture in the United States and around the world.
Related Reading: Online Gaming Audience: Lines Blur as the Market Grows
More on The director: Marc de Guerre
Does Playing Violent Video Games Induce Aggression Empirical Evidence of a Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study
Purity First
Posted by ebongeek in Gaming, Opinion, Singularity News on August 3, 2011
Ebongeek has covered game trailers before but this one titled “Purity First” is one of the finest we have ever seen. It was created as part of an advertising campaign for the video game Deus Ex: Human Revolution. It is a brilliant piece of viral marketing that blends technological fear mongering, rabid ludditeism and faux propaganda into a kind of nightmare gumbo for the eyes. At the same time, it serves as an interesting cautionary tale about runaway technology, ruthless corporate greed and societal collapse. It is quite creepy and comes off less as science fiction as it does a peek into some strange parallel alternative reality. The fascination we have with these dystopian visions of the future seem to be part of some strange process our society uses or in some way needs to cope with the emergence of new transformative technologies. Nevertheless the trailer is very entertaining and it will likely drive traffic to the game manufacturers site, but why is the underlying message so incredibly negative? Aaron Saenz of Singularity Hub put it best; “The effort put into this game is phenomenal, but the pessimism is a little much for me to let pass unchallenged. Human augmentation is just a new form of enslavement? Come on. Last time I checked, the real world scientists and companies creating artificial eyes and limbs were much more concerned with helping people than turning them into drug-addicted minions.” Source: Singularity Hub
Gaming on a 20 foot LCD MultiTouch Wall
If you are going to get your game on, you may as well do it on a LCD Multi-Touch Wall. The game is called Fleet Commander developed by Arthur Nishimoto in the Electronic Visualization Laboratory at the University of Illinois in Chicago. It is a real time strategy game adapted for a large interactive LCD Multi-Touch Wall. According to Nishimoto; “this game attempts to tackle many of the challenges of developing a multi-touch application in a tabletop environment. This includes orientation independent interfaces, multi-user interaction, and issuing multiple commands using only a multi-touch interface. Originally designed for use with TacTile, a 52-inch multi-touch LCD tabletop display, Fleet Commander is also being used to explore multi-user interaction on a 20-foot wide multi-touch LCD wall.”
To find out more go to http://www.evl.uic.edu/core.php?mod=1&type=1
Fire Is Coming For Us In Rage Of The Firelands
Posted by ebongeek in Gaming, Geek Stuff on June 17, 2011
Unstoppable, unending rage is what we have been promised for the upcoming World of Warcraft patch 4.2. We here at Ebongeek love our games about as much as we love Science, Technology and the Singularity. For our staff WoW is like morning coffey and afternoon tea, a basic staple of our daily geek life. Blizzard has yet to announce an official release date for Rage Of The Firelands, but it is anticipated to arrive by June 28 2011. If you love the game as much as we do check out this seek peek.
Resistance 3
It’s been a long time coming but Resistance 3 drops September 6th 2011. (almost makes you wish they would just go ahead and do the movie already…)
Get the song “Masters Of War” by the The Staple Singers from the R3 trailer. Also check out the LTG review of Resistance 3
Asura’s Wrath
Asura’s Wrath may be worth trying based on the weirdness factor alone. What is the game about? Well…according to the the producer Kasuhiro Tsuyachiya, “Asura’s Wrath takes elements from Asian mythology and blends them with science fiction. In the game, Asura is a demigod fighting to reclaim his daughter from the deities who kidnapped her and banished him from earth.” Like we said weirdness…
The Halo 4 Trailer from E3 2011
Last time we saw Master Chief he was stranded on a badly damaged ship adrift in deep space but it seems that will not be the end of the story. On Monday Microsoft revealed it’s Halo 4 trailer at E3 2011. No release date has been set but expect to see it sometime in 2012.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3
Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 is slated for release 11/08/11 and so far it looks action packed but of course what else would you expect from Activision. The new game picks up from where events of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 left off. Kotaku.com’s Brian Crecente provides a sneak peek with many spoilers so be warned. Ebongeek will keep an eye out for MW3 when it drops in November. Pre-order Now for PC, PS3, and Xbox






