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Charter spreads its 5 new HD channels to Greenville, SC
Although it took Charter long enough to muster the will to add five new high-def stations to the lineup in Asheville, North Carolina, it seems that said market won't be the only one getting gifted. One particular subscriber down in Greenville, South Carolina just received a similar pamphlet from the carrier informing him that he too will be blessed with the same newcomers: The Weather Channel HD, Discovery HD, TLC HD, Animal Planet HD and TBS HD. We're hoping the HD love won't stop here, so be sure and let us know if the same message floats to your neck of the woods.[Thanks, Adam]
Time Warner adds Discovery HD suite in Columbia, SC
It's been quite the day for Time Warner Cable, which has not only blessed North Texas with 11 new HD channels (though snubbed those in the outskirts mightily), it also found time to gift the Triad region in North Carolina with the Discovery HD suite. Lo and behold, Columbia, South Carolina has received those very same four channels, too. We're talking Animal Planet HD, Science Channel HD, Discovery Channel HD and TLC HD, but alas, all four are being delivered via SDV, so HD TiVo users are currently out of luck. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family][Thanks, ebrough]
GDC08: Live from Rob Pardo talks about Blizzard's approach to MMOs
Rob Pardo, Blizzard's Senior Vice President of Game Design, is speaking at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this afternoon and WoW Insider is here live to catch it all. Though the auditorium is just filling up, Pardo should be out in a few minutes to tell us all about Blizzard's approach to multiplayer game design. Catch the full details after the break.%Gallery-16546%
Samsung fires off six camcorders for your shootin' pleasure
Samsung's gone and announced not one but six, count 'em six, new camcorders ranging in price and features, some of which are of interest to the tapeless set. We haven't gotten our hands on any of 'em just yet, but we've got a spec sheet, so we'll give you the rundown. But first, a more traditional cam: the SC-D372 MiniDV camcorder, which sports a Schneider lens, 34x optical zoom, a 2.7-inch LCD, and a 680,000 pixel CCD that shoots at 800 x 600 for still images. It'll be released sometime in March for $270. Next up is the SC-MX10 micro camcorder, which despite its "ultra-compact" design, still has that 2.7-inch LCD. This one will also record in DivX and has 34x optical zoom and a 680,000 CCD, and the standard SD card slot. However, you'll have to wait a full eight months to drop $320 for the SC-MX10, as it won't hit until September 2007. Moving on, there's the SC-DC575 DVD camcorder, which as the name implies, saves its videos to DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW and dual-layer DVD+R formats. There's also a four-in-one memory card slot in case your still running on something other than SD. Sadly though, this $450 cam won't be released until May. The fourth one on our list is the SC-X300, which apparently will let you shoot DivX video in the toughest environments that you can find. It shoots at 720 x 480 at 30fps, displayed on its 2-inch screen, will zoom up to 10x, and includes an SD slot and USB. When it gets released in September, you'll have to throw down $480 so you can bring it along on your toughest of missions. The penultimate cam, the SC-DX10 (pictured, with a front view on the next page) can record both to its internal 4GB flash drive or to DVDs (single and dual-layer formats). It's got a 26x optical zoom lens that compliments its single megapixel CCD. This one won't hit until August for $630. Our last, and yes, most expensive ($850) camcorder that Samsung is announcing is the SC-HMX10 "high-definition" (we don't know exactly what) that has 4GB of flash storage, a 2.7-inch screen, a 1.5 megapixel CCD for still photos, a 10x optical zoom and the predictable SD slot and USB port. But alas, you'll have to wait until September to toss up that much coinage for this heavy-duty camera.
How to get Double Agent for $48
After doing the post about the Assassin's Creed collector's edition, we couldn't help but notice this little tidbit. It looks like Play-Asia is offering the region free version of Splinter Cell: Double Agent for a measly $44.90. Add $3.10 shipping and you've got your own copy for $48. That's $12 dollars of the retail price. Not bad at all. We've done a story or two on region free Xbox 360 games in the past. For the uninitiated, 360 games released in Asia are often region free. Not only that, but they are usually completely identical to their English counterparts, right down to the manual. We haven't confirmed whether or not this is the case with Splinter Cell, but it's a fairly safe bet. Did anybody here get their copy from Play-Asia? For future reference, Play-Asia maintains a list of its region free 360 games. You might want to bookmark it if you enjoy saving money.
Metareview: Double Agent
Reviews for Splinter Cell: Double Agent are pouring in. The consensus, more of the same, but that's not a bad thing. Most reviews point to the subtle refinements of the series. So far, the streamlined multiplayer seems to be the most controversial aspect of the game. Most critics tend to think it's a step in the right direction, but all of them know that the hardcore SC fans won't like the changes. IGN 90% - "Double Agent digs down into the very role of duality by giving gamers hard choices to make. Whether that means confronting the option of nuking innocents on a cruise ship or betraying Fisher's associates with a gunshot to the head, it's now possible." 1UP 80% - "... the co-op missions are just gussied-up versus matches, and because the versus game doesn't have any variations in objectives (spies simply hack at computer terminals to retrieve files to return to the starting base) or modes, multiplayer may start to wear out more quickly than in previous editions. Gamespot 85% - "Sam Fisher is the star of the Splinter Cell series, so it's odd that the multiplayer portions of these games, which he's in no way a part of, seem to be evolving much more rapidly than the solo campaigns. Double Agent's few keen twists on Splinter Cell's single-player gameplay don't result in a remarkably different experience from the previous games, though that doesn't mean it still isn't some of the best stealth action out there." As of right now, the game has an average of 87% on Metacritic. Not bad. Has anyone picked it up yet?
