While it still won’t operate on our trusty Macintosh Performa 5200, PC gamers with less-than-stellar rigs will be pleased to know that Valve recently lowered the previously announced system requirements for Left 4 Dead. Well, okay — the only thing they lowered was the video card memory requirement from 256 MB to 128 MB, but we imagine that this will allow access to a much larger number of casually outfitted PCs. To find out if you’ll be able to join in all the zombified reindeer games upon Left 4 Dead’s Nov. 18 release, check out the full list of requirements we’ve posted after the jump.
There are many writers on the Joystiq payroll who are of the firm opinion that the Wii incarnation of Resident Evil 4 was the best version of the multi-platform title. That’s why we were understandably disappointed when it was outed that Resident Evil 5 would not be coming to Nintendo’s console — though according the game’s producer, Masachika Kawata, a Wii port of RE5was never a remote possibility. Due to the game’s graphical improvements over the previous installment, “the title screen of this couldn’t have been done on PS2 or Wii,” Kawata explained in a recent GameTrailers interview.
Nintendo fanboys shouldn’t be too disheartened by this somewhat brash claim — in a later, seperate interview with GameTrailers, Juntake Uchi, yet another producer for the title, said that Capcom would love to continue the Resident Evil franchise on the Wii, though such a reunion is “a couple of years down the road.”
There’s been a number of pleasant surprises that have come out of Treyarch’s upcoming installment in the wildly lucrative Call of Duty franchise — such as the inclusion of Jack Bauer, and its uncanny resemblance to the previous, well-received chapter in the series. However, last night’s episode of GameTrailers TV brought another shocking (yet welcome) revelation, straight from the mouth of Treyarch studio head Mark Lamia — Call of Duty: World at War will contain a four-player, co-op zombie (of the Nazi variety) survival mode.
Those who currently aren’t busy scraping pieces of their blown mind off of the wall behind them will probably be interested in a few details Lamia mentioned — the gameplay mode (which is unlocked upon the completion of the single player campaign) will place four players in a central structure, then assail them with wave upon wave of undead national socialists. Throughout the game, players will collect money which can be used to fortify their compound, or purchase new weapons. Also, there will be Nazi zombies.
In a recent letter to the editor published in the Washington Post, D.C. resident and frequent Metrorail rider Joseph Anzalone criticizes ads for Bethesda’s upcoming post-apocalyptic blockbuster, Fallout 3, which are plastered all over the city’s various forms of public transportation. The ads in question depict a number of Washington D.C.’s more recognizable landmarks, which look “ravaged, as if hit by missles.” Anzalone suggests that such imagery only serves as “a daily reminder that Washington is a prime target for an attack.”
We certainly understand Anzalone’s point, though we disagree with the justification behind his request to remove the ads — he claims they aren’t protected by the First Amendment as they “do not present a true viewpoint or political message.” The commercial speech doctrine clearly states that advertisements which don’t contain false or misleading messages are completely protected under the First Amendment.
Legality aside — what do you, dear readers, think about the situation? Are the ads insensitive? Should they be removed?
Though the initial report from Media Molecule following the delay of the once Qur’an-infused platformer, LittleBigPlanet, was that the title would now be dropping during the week of October 27, dozens of readers have sent in tips reporting that GameStop’s lovable customer service robot, Aeris, recently called to say the title would be in North American stores October 25. For those still recovering from a start-of-weekend bender, that’s today.
We’d suggest calling your local GameStop before making the trip down, just to avoid any possible disappointment. If the very thought of crossing the threshold of the oft-reviled retailer makes your skin crawl, rest assured that with the title readily available at GameStop, it shouldn’t be too much longer before it appears in the rest of your local brick-and-mortars.
There are a number of maladies one usually associates with long-term guitar playing — bloodied, mangled fingers (otherwise known as Townshend syndrome), horrible “strap burn” on one side of the player’s neck, and, of course, an insatiable addiction to heroin. While for the most part, faux-rocking Guitar Hero and Rock Band enthusiasts are safe from these perils, a recent recall announcement of a peripheral may concern ludological guitarists about the very real possibility of shredding-related pants corrosion.
The peripheral in question is the Rage Wireless Guitar for the Wii, which has been recalled due to a faulty circuit board which causes the AA batteries within to leak onto the user’s Jordache’s, and possibly, the tallowy skin beneath. One injury complaint has already been filed, spurring the recall, however, those present at the aforementioned time of injury were quoted as saying, “seeing Steve rock so hard that he burned a hole in his pants was the coolest thing any of us will ever see.”
What drives the turbines at a nuclear power plant? Steam. Where can you now pre-order and pre-loadFallout 3? Steam. The product page for Bethesda’s post-apocalypse RPG has gone live, offering PC gamers the opportunity to play the game at 12:01 a.m. on its official release date, Oct. 28.
The game is selling for .99 via the service, the same price the non-special edition version would set you back in box-and-disc form. You can check out Fallout 3‘s system requirements in our earlier post, just to be ready. See you in the Wasteland!
Motorcycles in Burnout Paradise? Awesome. Even, er … awesome-r is today’s announcement that Criterion is planning at least four additional DLC content packs for the game. Placeholder images for the packs are already up on the developer’s newly revamped site, along with word that the contents of the first pack will be laid bare on Friday, Oct. 31.
The remaining three packs will be revealed each subsequent Friday (Nov. 7, Nov. 14, and Nov. 24). It’s almost certain that one of the packs will introduce an entirely new island, which Criterion has been working on for some time. As for the others … what would you like to see? (If they aren’t, in fact, additional islands.)
In November 2005 I prepaid for one year of XM Satellite service. After the year expired I stopped using it because it didn’t fulfill my needs. I thought that was the end of it. I was wrong. Today I received a letter from XM telling me my subscription is about to expire. What? So I called them and found they billed me for 23 months of service I didn’t use. They said no less than six times, “I’m sorry to hear you’re unhappy”, yet would not refund any part of the money. I was told that I agreed to be billed monthly per their terms of service. Oops, my bad. I didn’t read their TERMS OF SERVICE. I’m not an attorney, and that is a heck of a lot of information. Do you regularly read Terms of Service?
Well, I just did. After 20 minutes of reading, I finally found the section that said I agreed to continue their service:
That was like finding a needle in a haystack. You may call me a moron for not noticing the bill on my credit card, and I am. But my wife pays the bills and she didn’t know the status of my XM. So I take the blame. I just lost 23 months of payments, or about 0. I feel like a total ass. Thanks XM!
Do you agree with XM’s policy of automatically renewing service without specifically asking permission?
Do you read Terms of Service for every service you sign up for?
Definitely, the ugliest thing I have seen in my whole life. You need sometime to get use to it, specially if you are going to use if just as a phone. To place a call you need to tap the screen at least 3 times and you have to look into the screen to do it so definitely this is not something that you want to do while you are driving. I’m probably too use to just hold pressed a key to dial a predefined number. Making a call using your voice is a "fantasy" included in that phone. At least for me. My Windows Mobile Phone was a lot better in this point.
Using the phone as a GPS navigation system in your car is far away… yet. You can get directions but nothing that you can use while driving. Again, my Windows Mobile Device performs better thanks to 3rd party software. But having a GPS I doubt that we are not going to see this applications ported to Android.
I could not find anyway to install applications unless they are included in the Market Place. And there are applications out there like Opera for Android that I wanted to test. I stayed away from the iPhone because I did not like the whole concept of a close market but so far I have not seen anything different on this T-Mobile phone.
A lot of potential so I’ll keep it but I would say that this product was put prematurely into the market.
Update: I was able to install some applications out of the Android Market. Seems to me that to install the Apk has to be created using the latest Android SDK. I still investigating the issue.
