The Zone

If you're looking forward to play the latest games from FatCatLim's Orange Box but lack the processing requirements of Valve's latest package, fear not because you can be saved by = HL2: Portal in 2D Flash!!!! Check out the screens below if you don't believe them!

Instant LOL, more screens after the jump!

In a shocking discovery a couple of days back, we found out that The Sims and Spore (we're still waiting for it!!) creator Will Wright was the winner of the 1980 US  Express run from NY to LA. Much like the Gumball 3000 road rally you kids get to see on TV nowadays, back then it was as crazy as it was illegal - you'll need police scanners, radar jammers and the likes of Valentine One. Who thought gamers were always geeks? he drove an RX-7 for crying out loud! :P

 See more stories at Wired

May do what?

That Neuro-Reckoning may help solve the problem of lags in online games due to Internet connection problems.

Specifically, the National University of Ireland is coming up with a software than can reckon a player's actions based on neural networks. This isn't exactly new as Quake uses a technique called Dead-Reckoning. This assumes that the player will maintain the same velocity and direction that it has when an Internet lag hits.

However, that's for first-person shooters (FPS). When it comes to role-playing games (RPG), you need a much smarter reckoning system - and that's where neural nets come in.

Source : Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Technology Review

Just came back from LowYat Plaza where XFX just launched the XFX GeForce 8800 GT in Malaysia, the first official launch of NVIDIA's new GeForce 8800 GT in the country. Click the jump for more pictures of the launch and images of XFX's spiffy new card! 

Our fellow man FatCatLim was so pumped up by getting Guitar Hero III last night, he came to the office today looking like this:

Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix and Freddie Mercury would be turning in their graves.....

We were doing our usual stuff yesterday, oblivious to the fact that it's Haloween, but when we got online this morning with our usual teary, blood-shot eyes, we found out that loads of gaming company employees dressed up as the characters from Team Fortress 2!! Thanks to the dudes at kotaku, here's a roundup of what they did:

Bioware:

Blizzard:

EA:

NCSoft: 

ESA to work with the MPA to combat piracy in Malaysia

It looks like the game industry in Malaysia is about to get a huge boost, no less from the Entertainment Software Association themselves. The Escapist reports that the ESA is working together with the Motion Picture Association to increase anti-piracy in Malaysia.

The move is the first coordinated effort put together between the two agencies, and also represents the ESA's first attempt at reducing piracy in Malaysia, where large-scale infringement of intellectual property rights is common. "The ESA focuses resources where we save U.S. jobs, enhance the value of the videogame industry and get results," said ESA President Michael Gallagher. "Piracy penalizes investment and harms the ability of videogame companies to make great games. We are proud to partner with MPA on this program which will protect investment, innovation and job creation - as well as build a strong foundation for expanded trade with Malaysia."

Representative Adam Schiff, co-chair of the Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus in the U.S., said, "I'm encouraged by this news and commend this joint enforcement effort. Malaysia has been a nation of concern with regard to international piracy for some time now, and this is exactly the type of private industry support and cooperation needed to crack down on this problem."

This is an encouraging move. For years, game piracy in Malaysia has continued to be a major problem for the game industry in the region. Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo have been reluctant to launch their games and consoles here due to the lack of enforcement by authorities to stem the sale of pirated games, forcing gamers who wanted to buy original games to parallel import titles and consoles at higher prices. Now with the support of the ESA and public acknowledgement of the seriousness of game piracy here, perhaps we can see some real action taken on combating piracy in the country after all these years.

The Escapist article
ESA press release
Game Politics article

This has to be absolutely cool - ala Minority Report style! The trick entails the use of an IR sensor, and trick 3M reflective tape, which is reflective enough to beam those  IR rays back to the sensor. Unfortunately, you'll have to wear them (the tape) on your fingertips, and a wee bit of hacking is involved. You can't emulate the wiimote buttons, too, so can someone port this to the PC? hehe

It was inevitable. You can have some moist, soft cake now :D

For those Malaysians who are looking forward to buy ori, here's a carrot (albeit a tiny one) for the would-be buyers of NFS ProStreet at Gamers.com.my.

Bye bye Carbon, hello ProStreet!

I don't play the Metroid Prime series, but I certainly wouldn't mind this lovely  custom-made poseable Samus Aran figurine. Though the face inside the helmet looks a little creepy. Click the jump for more photos of this figurine made by this talented Metroid Prime fan.   

Read 

We don't know where our sudden Samus addiction came from, but the picture below is simply....stunning.  No doubt the beautiful Jenni Källberg's helmet mayb e a tad too big from the original, but hey, she's got the armor right, and just look at that hair! 

More pictures of Jenni here