The Zone

TGS 2008: KOFXII and KOF2002: Ultimate Match impressions

FatCatLim | 10 October, 2008 07:10

KOFXII Impressions

The 3 new characters revealed for KOFXII at TGS are Iori, Andy, and Raiden. I only tried a bit of Raiden and mostly Iori. Andy not yet. I'll play him more tomorrow.

- Raiden has an alternate costume color that makes him look like he's shirtless. It's almost like an entirely new costume!

- Iori has a new costume. Looks less 80s and more like a trendy Akiba dude, lol.

- Since the ending of KOFXI showed that Iori lost his Orochi powers, this means he can't do his standard uppercut and fireball. Although most of his normals are the same, his specials now consist of slashes similar to Mature. He really plays and feels like a different character.

- Iori's DP is now an upward diagonal slash. Reminds me of another fighting character's move, but I can't remember. Hmm...

- No QCB P X3. It's an entirely new motion. QCB P does a different backward slash. Same goes with QCB K. I can't tell whether he still has his old HCB,F P grab. Dammit, I really need to play more of him tomorrow!

- Iori's super is still the same motion, and attacks look the same. But he ends it with an X-style slash.

- The booth says that the game is 65% complete. It's really a work in progress - Athena's uppercut hitbox is not accurate.

KOF2002: Ultimate Match impressions

SNK Playmore also had KOF2002: Ultimate Match up for free play at the TGS 2008. It's basically the ultimate dream match game that featured all KOF characters from KOF99 to KOF2K2. There's a 'new' character called Nameless, but he's actually not new. Nameless is basically K9999...but with a different sprite. I was thinking who the hell he was and when I played him, I realized that he had all of K9999 moves, lol. But some moves have been given different properties and animation. Just some early quick impressions:

- Nameless standing animation is rather lame. Makes him look quite stiff.

- His uppercuts (DP P) have longer range and different animation.

- QCF P have improved range and different animation.

- QCB K have improved range and...uh, yeah. you get the idea.

- His 1632143 P super now appears as a pillar of reddish fire. Looks and feel like it has shorter range.

- Dwn K is a sweep, while DF K is his slide. His Dwn C is still the same, but I don't think it sweeps anymore.

I will try out more of him tomorrow just to see if he retained his tentacle and shooting supers. SNK says the game is currently 65% complete, but all of the characters were available for play. Maybe they still need to test for bugs - some background music was interrupted when changing rounds. Oh yeah, the monitors they used to demonstrate the game were really horrible - the game colors looked horribly washed out and appeared even more pixelated.

TGS 2008: White Knight trailer impressions

FatCatLim | 10 October, 2008 07:04

One of the bigger announcements that Sony had for the Tokyo Game Show 2008 was the unveiling of the gameplay trailer for White Knight, which is due to be released this 25th December 2008. Developed by studio Level 5, I don't think many people expected the game to look and play very much like an MMORPG. Later on, Level 5 held a mini demonstration at the Sony booth on how you can customize your character and join a party to take on a quest in the game with an online friend.

The trailer CG looked great though honestly, the in-game graphics didn't impressed me too much. It's possible the graphics were slightly scaled down to accommodate the huge MMORPG-like expansive world. While I understand not many people enjoy MMORPGs and may seem appalled at the gameplay decision that Level 5 took with White Knight, it does highlight the growing trend of online communities among high-def consoles. Plus knowing Level 5 stellar reputation, I think they should pull off White Knight pretty competently. What do you think?

Hardware: First Glimpse of Gigabyte P45 Ultra durable 3 board

trojanshark | 08 October, 2008 11:07

Right after the GO OC 2008, Gigabyte was kind enough to let us play around with their new P45 Ultra Durable 3 board. With a 2 Oz copper layer in between the PCB, as well as stronger components this board is quite likely what the Toughbook is to notebooks, the ruggedly tough version. We didn't manage to play too much with it in that we didn't push it too much (overclock) but the board does have custom BIOS function to do so. For more information and details on the board check out our full coverage in the latest issue of HWM.

Events: GO OC 2008 Freestyle Champs

trojanshark | 29 September, 2008 09:46

The second stage of the Gigabyte Open Overclocking Championships 2008 (GO OC 2008) was a thrilling race to shatter the world's current overclocking records. Several World OC Records fell that day with a neck and neck race between Team Vietnam and Team USA 2 that culminated in a 5:4 win for the champs of the P45 Freestyle competition. For more details on the thrilling drama, check out our report in the latest issue of HWM.

Events: GO OC 2008 P45 OC champ!

trojanshark | 25 September, 2008 16:15

The first stage of GO OC 2008 (Gigabyte Open Overclocking Championship 2008) is finally over and we have the top three teams for the P45 OC bash. They include team Sweden 2, team Russia and team USA 1. For more indepth info and who exactly is the champ (if you can't recognise them from the pic!) then take a look at our latest issue of HWM. Next will be the freestyle event and we'll really see how far these catz can take it to the next level.

Event: Live from GOOC 2008

trojanshark | 25 September, 2008 09:57

Gigabyte's Open Overclocking Championship 2008 live from the Grand Hyatt Ballroom at Taipei. Check out all the boyz doing their thing in HWM's latest issue.

Events: DiGi launches insurance coverage with AIG

zerotau | 11 September, 2008 12:08

Above - DiGi and AIG General Insurance executives posing for a photo - complete with safety helmet

Below - DiGi's Albern Murty announces the plan details to members of the media

DiGi has announced some good news for its mobile subscribers; free accident insurance coverage by AIG up to RM10000 which also covers disability and loss of limbs. Its a 24-hour worldwide policy available to all DiGi subscribers which have been with the company at least for three months. To start your free insurance coverage, SMS 'INS YES' to 2000!

Sections: Give Us Your Best Shots!

zerotau | 08 September, 2008 14:24

We're starting a new photography section in the magazine, and we would like to dedicate a page to all you shutterbugs out there, so feel free to email us your shots at editorial@my.hardwaremag.com! Don't forget to include your name and the kit you're using too, so send them shots over!

Gaming: Gish creator swings into the Aether

trojanshark | 08 September, 2008 12:35

Edmund Mcmillen creator of Gish, the ground-breaking indie game involving everyone's lovable blob of tar has come up with an interesting Flash game called Aether to tie us over while waiting for the next incarnation of Gish. The game itself is fairly small by most gaming standards (about 29MB) but does incorporate a very simple but very interesting mode of transport just like Gish. However instead of flowing like tar you travel through space using a single super tentacle like tongue that hooks onto clouds and other floating objects. With plenty of simple puzzles and interesting game mechanics it should be a good timewaster for that saturday off.

Hardware: Some more Centrino 2 notebook performance

trojanshark | 03 September, 2008 12:04

Other notebook makers are quickly jumping on the Centrino 2 bandwagon with their versions. So far we have seen improved notebook performance overall but nearly as impressive as the first Centrino 2 notebook we got our hands on. However, the other Centrino 2 notebook we tested had much better stability compared to the first, so take a look at the PCMark05 score and if you're interested, pick up the September issue of HWM for a more indepth analysis.

Technology: Detroit Electric shows off their new prototypes

zerotau | 02 September, 2008 15:55

Why is this post all about cars? At HWM, we do have our own car nuts who love cars, and being technology lovers ourselves, the invitation to Detroit Electric's electric car introduction today was one of the greater pleasures in life when work meshes with our hobby. More details and videos to come in a later post!Pictures after the jump!

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Hardware: Hands-on with the 9500 GT 512MB

trojanshark | 25 August, 2008 10:08

NVIDIA's latest entry level graphic card to hit the market is the 9500 GT. We managed to get our hands on the 512MB version and found a teeny tiny mighty single-slot titan waiting for us. At first glance it looks like it can barely hold its own weight in terms of gaming performance, but this miniscule card can even run Crysis with a reasonable amount of tweaking! Check out the 3DMark06 score below for an idea about the card but for a more indepth analysis go get the September issue of HWM 2008.

Offbeat: iPhone 3G comes shipped with factory pics

zerotau | 22 August, 2008 13:28

Cute, isn't she? These images came from a British iPhone 3G which was purpotedly used by Foxconn's workers while assembling them. At the very least, she looks happy building them :D

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Hardware: Hands-on with the HD 4870 X2

trojanshark | 20 August, 2008 16:18

We finally managed to get our hands on the dual GPU HD 4870 X2 graphic card from AMD-ATI. So far, the card looks and feels more or less like a carbon copy of the HD 3870 X2, featuring the same long dual slot design. The card is still heavy as ever but it does boast a 3DMark Vantage score that blows everything including the GTX 280 out of the water. However, there are definite shortcomings. Read the full review in our September issue of HWM.

Hardware: Sneak Peek at some Centrino 2 notebook performance

trojanshark | 18 August, 2008 16:32

Intel's performance notebook processor, the Centrino 2 has hit the streets, with plenty notebook makers already beginning the churn out for notebooks with the Centrino 2 processor. We were quite surprised by its performance because it not only tries its best to beat out equal desktop systems, it is also quite successful. Check out the PCMark05 score below. For the full-blown analysis check it out in our September issue of HWM.