Review: Heavy Rain

It’s rare for game studios to take leaps of faith these days. When games take so much time and money to create, it’s much easier to develop a sequel to a blockbuster title than to attempt to create a game or concept that no one else has tried. While the decision is understandable it’s unfortunate as that’s the reason we don’t see many games like Heavy Rain on the market.

Heavy Rain is a game unlike any we’ve seen before. It calls itself a Hollywood style cinematic adventure. The game doesn’t focus solely on action (although there is plenty of that) but rather an intense unforgettable story. Yes, Sony and Quantic Dream went out on a limb with Heavy Rain. And while the game may not be for everyone, it’s an impressive title many will be talking about for a long time to come.

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Oh Noes! Denny’s Points People to Wrong Twitter Account

If you want people to follow you on Twitter then it’s a given you should give them the correct user name to follow. Apparently Denny’s didn’t know just how important this is. For months, the popular breakfast franchise has been encouraging restaurant goers to follow the restaurant on Twitter through @Dennys. The only problem is @Dennys doesn’t belong to Denny’s at all, rather an unknown random Taiwanese dude by the name of Dennys Hsieh.

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StarCraft 2 Beta Keys Auctioned Off For $450

Excited for the upcoming StarCraft 2? Yes a lot of you are. But would you pay hundreds of dollars just to play the beta? Apparently yes, many of you would. More than 50 beta keys, most of which came in the form of coupons handed out at BlizzCon 2008, are now being auctioned off on eBay. While a few are going for around $150 dollars, a few are topping out at $450.

We know StarCraft fans are pretty loyal, but seriously? $450! Makes you wonder how many of these beta codes are fake.

[Via Joystiq]

Retro Nerd Alert: GameCube Menu Music Same As Famicom BIOS Music, Just 25 Times Slower

Nintendo’s certainly known for recycling a good thing for a brand new audience. It is the granddaddy of franchise-building as evidenced by Mario’s appearance in over 200 games in nearly 30 years. But, the reuse of the original Nintendo Famicom BIOS music is true dedication to the history that brought you here.

Discovered by some industrious gamers with too much time on their hands, the distinctly electronic notes of the Famicom loading without an inserted game seem to have made their way through the years to appear as the GameCube menu music–just run at a speed 25 times slower than the original. Once you’ve listened to the GameCube version above, check out the other videos after the break.
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Review: XM SkyDock

I love my Sirius XM satellite radio. There isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t listen to the service either in my vehicle or at home. The only issue I have with it is that I must carry the small receiver with me wherever I go. I probably could leave it in the vehicle when I’m not using it, but what if someone broke in? I’d hate to have to buy another one. So you can imagine my delight when I heard about XM’s SkyDock, the cradle that turns my iPhone into a Sirius XM satellite receiver. Could this be it? Could this device be the solution to my satellite radio woes? While it isn’t perfect is comes pretty darn close.

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FarmVille Community Surpasses 80 Million Users

“John found a lonely Brown Cow on his farm.” “Mary is hosting a barn raising and needs some friends to lend a hand!” Oh and how about this one…”James wants to share a picture of his farm with you!” Tired of seeing all these status messages on Facebook. Sigh. It looks as though they won’t be disappearing anytime soon. The FarmVille  community on Facebook just hit 80 million users. Yes you read right, 80,920,421 users to be exact.

What can we say. Obviously too many people have too much time on their hands.

[Via Destructoid]

Konami Goes 3D With Metal Gear Arcade

Konami is taking Metal Gear into the 3rd dimension, at least in the arcades. Metal Gear Arcade will be Konami’s first Metal Gear game featuring those oh so stylish 3D glasses.

The game itself is based on Metal Gear Online. Players will take control of a gun controller and sit their butts down in a cabinet equipped with 5.1 surround sound. While the game will debut at the AUO Expo in Japan this week, there’s no word on when it will actually hit arcades, but you can bet Konami will try and port this to a console very soon!

To check out the game in action, check out the link below.

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Apple Says No To Sexy Time

While the Internet may very well be for porn, Apple is putting its foot down on sexy shenanigans when it comes to its App Store. Sure, it’s not news that pornographic material or even simple nudity was a no-no from the official app supplier, but word on the street is that Apple is out to ban all apps of any titillating nature. Even the hint of sexual content is not likely to make the cut.

The whistle-blowing on this Apple policy-in-the-works is the developer of Wooble (an app that lets you put not safe for work “realistic” jiggle on your own photo collection) who is none-to-pleased to be punted from the App Store. According to the developer, App Store reviewers are enforcing a policy that “there will be no more applications that are for any purpose of excitement or titillation”.

In fact, the developer was even more specific on what’s likely off the menu for your iPhone:

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Mechanical Fireflies Could Create 3D Displays In The Air

If we have 3D displays in our movies and our TVs, why not the air?

MIT is working on creating 3D displays in the air. Flyfire would create large three dimensional objects in space using miniature helicopters with an attached light. The mini helicopters would function as a pixel, creating a larger display. Right now, it’s mainly theoretical but the ideal state would be a cloud of “smart dust” where the pixels would be tiny and self contained.

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Cheap Flexible OLED Lighting Coming This Year

The concept still seems very foreign, but flexible OLED lighting will in fact be hitting the market later this year. ModisTech claims it will bring the technology to the masses one year ahead of schedule, and the best part is it will be cheap.

Flexibile OLED lighting is expected to be used as an indirect lighting source, and is supposed to look much more natural than LED lights. While no specific products have been announced, flexible OLED is expected to be used in desktop lamps and in car lighting.

[Via OLED-Info]