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Supermassive black hole dust is denser than we thought
The majority of galaxies have a supermassive black hole at their core. And, like our own Milky Way version, most of these black holes are relatively quiet. However, a minority of supermassive black holes are incredibly active, consuming dust, gas, and other matter at an extraordinary rate and emitting large amounts of energy. Scientists call these black holes active galactic nuclei. Generally, these active galactic nuclei all look the same, with a donut-shaped ring of dust, or a torus, surrounding the black hole. Now, scientists have determined that the tori around active supermassive black holes are actually much smaller than originally theorized. The study will be published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Cure exotic animals on the Wii
If you thought that Trauma Center's return to the DS would mean the end of medical games on the Wii, you were wrong.Zoo Hospital isn't just about normal doctoring, though -- as you can probably figure out from the game's title, you'll be a veterinarian (or, straight out of vet school, at least) that works on curing exotic animals from sicknesses.Surgeries won't be the only tasks you'll be performing in Zoo Hospital. You'll also do X-Ray and dentistry related tasks to soothe the forty-eight ailing animals. But even if you find the premise interesting, you might not want to get your hopes too high, as the DS version off the game (also developed by Torus) was apparently not that good.Zoo Hospital is planned to launch in European and PAL territories during Q4, 2008.%Gallery-22333%[Via press release]
DS Fanboy Review: Indianapolis 500 Legends
Indianapolis 500 Legends isn't your average racing game. Instead of presenting the player with a series of circuits, this DS title focuses on one, and only one track. To state the obvious, in the game you race in the Indy 500, an event known as "the Greatest Spectacle in Racing." Since Legends doesn't try to woo you with a bunch of different courses, it attempts too add variety with the help of history. Through the game, the player is not only able to experience the Indy 500, but also learn about it. One way in which the game achieves this is by letting the player race as (and against) famous drivers (well ... they're famous in relation to other Indy car drivers, at least). But, can combining history with racing really work in the context of a video game?
Wii Fanboy Review: Indianapolis 500 Legends
Simulation racing games have never been a major interest of mine. They focus on realistically modeling car movement and performance, with the goal of encapsulating the true experience of doing something that most people cannot do: driving expensive, powerful cars very fast. Often efforts are made to model real locations as well to enhance the veracity of the experience. Simulation racing games provide a form of wish fulfillment that serves an interest shared by a lot of people. But I'm a lot more likely to wish for not having to drive than for more advanced forms of car driving.Arcade racing, I have no problem with -- the high-speed, powersliding gameplay has less to do with accurate models of car physics and more to do with game-specific mechanics. The car is governed by what's fun instead of what's real. I generally prefer activities that are more game-like than simulation-like. That's why I don't mind not having to simulate putting bowling shoes on in Wii Sports.Destineer's Indianapolis 500 Legends seems to have been intended as a simulation of classic Indy 500 races. But the racing feels more arcade-like. The game ends up straddling the two styles, and fails to succeed in either category. Bottom line (except not really, because there's a lot of review after this): this game is really only suitable for people with an abiding interest in driving in a circle, and an iffy proposition for that crowd.
