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ICYMI: Thought-controlled exoskeleton, textingbrella & more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-947132{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-947132, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-947132{width:570px;display:block;} Today on In Case You Missed It: Thought-controlled exoskeletons are walking around a lab in Korea and we remain impressed. An advertisement for a redesigned handle on an umbrella is making us all shout #firstworldproblems. And this may have happened back during MakerFaire, but it's news to us: A 15-year-old beat out everyone else at a "Game of Drones" competition that pits drones against one another, Fight Club style.
'Mirror's Edge Catalyst' is make or break for Faith
Even now, after seven years, Mirror's Edge is a unique and exhilarating parkour thriller. It's littered with flaws -- a paper-thin story, some frustrating level design and unnecessary gunplay -- but the clean, dystopian world and fluid motion still impress. The game didn't sell particularly well, so it was a surprise when EA first announced that it was giving developer DICE another roll at the franchise. Mirror's Edge Catalyst is a complete reboot for Faith, but it could also be the team's last chance to prove the series has a future. If the game can't find a larger audience this time around, it's unlikely that EA will green-light another.
Ubisoft enlists 'Chief Parkour Officer' for Assassin's Creed
To cement its place as the leading purveyor of acrobatic yet physically implausible action games, Ubisoft has hired famed freerunner Michael "Frosti" Zernow as its new Chief Parkour Officer. "Ubisoft's new Chief Parkour Officer will serve in a strategic advisory role, ensuring an ongoing commitment to the authenticity and accuracy of parkour beginning with the October 28 launch of Assassin's Creed: Unity, the next installment of the 76 million unit-selling Assassin's Creed franchise," reads the publisher's official announcement. "He will also advise on ways for the company and its franchise to continue its ongoing advocacy for the sport." Zernow is uniquely qualified for the CPO role, both due to his experience as a coach at California's Tempest Freerunning Academy and his history of working with Ubisoft's motion capture team on stunts for prior Assassin's Creed games. "I've been a long-time fan of the Assassin's Creed franchise, and it's one of the few highly visible examples of parkour that attracts younger athletes to the sport every year," Zernow said. [Image: Ubisoft]
Tempest Freerunning Academy features Mario tribute
The recently opened Tempest Freerunning Academy in Los Angeles has put together a promotional video of its gym that hits several notes obligating us to write about it. The fantastic feats of athleticism in the clip begin with various free runners flipping, climbing and jumping across a set inspired by the 8-bit world of Super Mario Bros. The rest of the video just fills us with jealous awe, considering the closest we'll probably ever get to pulling off some of the featured stunts is when we play Mirror's Edge or the upcoming Brink. Actually, we take that back. We could totally do the stunts, but we'd have to call ahead to the hospital and pre-order a room first.
Urban exploration in Age of Conan
Free running and urban exploration in virtual worlds have both taken off significantly in recent years. Players can be seen clambering around buildings and jumping between the rooftops in games from World of Warcraft to Everquest 2 and Funcom's Age of Conan is no different. Like a lot of players, I found myself eventually having to make my own fun after a while. For me, that meant finding my way onto the rooftops and jumping between them like a maniac. In this visual article, I find myself on the rooftops and back alleys of two cities in Age of Conan and see things from a perspective that most players will never see first hand. Age of Conan Freerunning Gallery %Gallery-32334% Having fun in Conan's homeland? Make sure to check out all of our previous Age of Conan coverage, and stick with Massively for more news from the Hyborian Age!
Urban exploration in Hyboria (part two)
Hyboria's other cities may hold more interesting finds. Despite its failings, one thing Age of Conan did well was providing breathtaking landscapes. When I got bored with quests and monsters, I looked for ways to make my own fun in Age of Conan.
Urban exploration in MMOs
Urban exploration and free running are activities normally associated with the real world. In recent years, however, MMOs such as Everquest 2, Age of Conan and World of Warcraft have become a digital stage for the arts. With entire new virtual worlds to explore, no risk of injury and no physical fitness required, it's understandable that many would-be free runners are going digital.In this article, I take a visual tour of the world of urban exploration and rooftop running in MMOs and explain how you can learn to clamber onto the rooftops in your favourite game.%Gallery-30295%
Free Running, where are you?
The team at Rebellion have released Free Running, based loosely on the principles of a French alternasport "Parkour," that Wikipedia defines as, "movement from point A to point B, as efficiently and quickly as possible, using principally the abilities of the human body." For local advocates, community fan sites like Urbanfreeflow.com are great resources for finding the latest, up-to-date Parkour activities in your hometown.Free Running garnered a decent review, but a release date is now strangely absent for fellow gamers across the pond in North America. Attempts to locate a U.S. release date on major retailers like GameStop, Amazon and GameFly, all bring up blank pages, whereas earlier reports showed a similar March release date. With a lack of alternative sports tittles currently available on the system, PSP owners in North America may feel the sting of drought for awhile longer.Japanese fan site PSP GadgetZ has been obsessing over the title, capturing more than half a dozen videos of the game. Watch for yourself and tell us if you think this violence-free Prince of Persia-styled game sparks your fancy.
Running beautifully in Free Running
Free Running from Ubisoft has you participating in the sport of free running, where one must "interact with their environment using movements such as vaulting, jumping, somersaults and other acrobatic movements, creating an athletic and aesthetically pleasing way of moving." (Source: Wikipedia)If that just sounds like baloney to you, you may want to check out this trailer. It's certainly an interesting concept for a game: but will it be any fun? The game releases March 30th.
Path to PSP, PS2 now clear for 'Free Running'
Free Running (the game) has seemingly overcome the obstacles, finding a publisher in Ubisoft and enough mainstream attention to warrant a UK release in mid-March. We first spotted Free Running in June 2005 when then publisher Eidos was showing off some footage of the Core Designs PSP title, which was also being called Parkour Freerun (note: parkour and free running are two distinct disciplines).Since that time, Core Designs was acquired by Rebellion, which eventually passed Free Running off to Reef Entertainment. Reef, now teamed with Ubisoft, has found an opportunity to finally turn out Free Running, which will also be released on PlayStation 2 (in addition to its original PSP format).The game release is timed with building commercialization of the 'free running' discipline, whose founder -- and star of the upcoming game -- Sebastien Foucan showed off some moves in the latest Bond flick Casino Royale. Ubisoft is a fitting publisher as both its Prince of Persia series and upcoming title Assassin's Creed feature elements inspired by free running. The publisher has no apparent plans to distribute Free Running outside of the UK.[Via PSP Fanboy]
Ubisoft brings PSP Free Running
Ubisoft and Reef Entertainment sent out a press release stating they will be bringing Free Running to the PSP (and other systems) in the UK in March. The game focuses on the alternative sport of free running that involves jumping across building tops, climbing over obstacles and generally using the city as your playground. Sebastien Foucan the creator of free running was recently in the Bond film Casino Royale and in the game you'll compete against him to become the greatest free runner of all time. Free Running will feature more than 60 challenges spread over 10 different levels in 3 distinct time zones, each with their own style of gameplay. 9 single and multiplayer modes like freestyle, time attack and ground zero. As you progress, you'll unlock characters, clothes, tricks videos and music. [Via DCEmu]
