phalanx
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Defend your desk with a 3D printed rubber band auto-gun
If you work with a bunch of sticky-fingered co-workers, your desk is going to need protecting -- especially when you're away at lunch. This 3D-printed sentry gun from Swiss engineering student Kevin Thomas is motion-activated and fires a 6-round clip of rubber bands at anybody foolhardy enough to come within range. It's controlled with an Arduino chip running Thomas' version of the open-source Project Sentry Gun software. And if you don't want to let the sentry gun have all the fun, you can also switch it from autonomous mode and manually aim it using a joystick. With all the eyes you'll put out and SBC violations you'll incur with this menacing mechanization, you and the HR department are going to become such good friends.
Navy successfully tests laser-equipped robot, freaks us out in the process
We do not like where this is heading, not one bit. The Navy has been testing laser-armed robotic gun turrets for a while, and now the Register (UK) is reporting that the technology has finally been used to knock a drone out of the sky, "in an over-the-water, combat representative scenario" at San Nicolas Island. Raytheon's Phalanx CIWS, generally outfitted with a 20mm Gatling gun, is a ship's last line of defense against incoming missiles. If they can be outfitted with lasers, there will be two distinct advantages: first, they wouldn't have to be reloaded; and second, when used on land, the surrounding area won't be littered with quite so much debris (shrapnel and unexploded rounds). Then again, we can think of one distinct disadvantage: there will be robots running around with laser cannons!
Japanese Nintendo downloads: LostWinds, Phalanx
Two WiiWare titles make the journey from the West to Japan today, both published by Square Enix. Just as it did for the first LostWinds, the publisher has brought the sequel to Japan for a holiday release. School of Darkness is actually WayForward's Lit, under a different, but equally literal, title. Also of note: the remake/port of the shooter Phalanx arrives! DSiWare is a bit less thrilling, with the standout release being the cleverly tilt-controlled Katamuction. Famicom Detective Club Part 2: The Girl Standing in the Back (Famicom, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) Gradius 2 (MSX, 1 player, 800 Wii Points) Majou Densetsu (MSX, 1 player, 800 Wii Points) Othello (WiiWare, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points) School of Darkness ( WiiWare, 1 player, 1,000 Wii Points) LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias (WiiWare, 1-2 players, 1,000 Wii Points) Phalanx (WiiWare, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) Simple DS Series Volume 2: THE Misshitsu Kara no Dasshutsu Gakkou Hen (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points) Katamuku + Action = Katamuction (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points) Pocket Rurubu: Nagoya/Kobe (DSiWare, 1 player, 800 DSi Points each)
WiiWare's Phalanx remake is almost a Virtual Console game
[GAME Watch] The trailer for the WiiWare version of Phalanx (after the break) reveals that it looks very much like a 16-bit game, rather than a remake of a 16-bit game. In fact, it looks identical to the Sharp X68000 version upon which it is based (and which is included in its unaltered form in the 500-point download). Essentially, developer Zoom is using WiiWare to release a Virtual Console game whose platform isn't supported on the Virtual Console -- with some new bonus content, like a new mode with new stages and manual weapon selection. We approve of this tactic. Phalanx will be released on December 22 in Japan.
Phalanx headed to WiiWare in Japan
Space shoot 'em up Phalanx will make its way to WiiWare in Japan sometime this winter. It will be based on the Sharp X68000 and not the Super Nintendo iteration, according to GamerBytes (translated from GameWatch). The game will cost 500 Wii points and currently has no announcement of a worldwide release.Although we recall Phalanx being a competent shooter, the game is actually remembered for its SNES box art, which featured an elderly Appalachian-lookin' man holding a banjo. Almost 20 years later, we still don't understand it.[Via GamerBytes]
Strange things are afoot at the Grim Guzzler
A lot of us pre-Burning Crusade players hold a warm place in our hearts for the Grim Guzzler, the bar in the middle of Blackrock Depths. It's a hangout for desperadoes and shady figures run by a leper gnome with a demonic bar wench and a metallic bouncer. Most of the patrons would usually kill you as soon as look at you, but as long as they're drunk and you don't bother them too much, they'll generally leave you alone. Of course, sometimes it's worth bothering them, since a few of the patrons and staff drop some pretty cool loot. Despite this charming atmosphere, the Grim Guzzler is in the middle of a sprawling dungeon of hostile Dark Iron Dwarves, so ever since the Burning Crusade, people don't seem to go down there too often. That said, you might want to check it out in the next few days. There's a few new faces down at the bar since patch 2.4.3 went live, including an Arena gear vendor named Griz Gutshank, a Dark Iron Brewer who can't hold his brew, and a couple of goblin roadies setting up for a Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain concert. Check out the gallery for a complete illustrated guide to the new faces and surprises at the Grim Guzzler, and maybe I'll see you there tonight for the Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain concert. Oh, and try the Sulfuron Slammer -- It's Plugger's newest specialty! %Gallery-27816%
