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G4's MMO Report pokes at AoC
The deluge of coverage for Age of Conan continues to overwhelm us all, and that's a good thing. Sure, there are the legions of ravening fans who were going to pick this title up no matter what as soon as it became available, but there are a good number of you still on the fence out there. Perhaps sensing this, G4's The MMO Report has gone to the effort of putting together their Age of Conan Special, wherein they interview AoC designer Jason Stone.On the show Stone talks about how AoC distinguishes itself from its competitors, notably through its combat scheme, the in-development anti-griefing 'Bounty Prison' system, weapon-specific fatalities, and the stacking debuff death penalty. Check out the embedded interview after the jump.Best exchange of the interview -- Jason: "So you can say whatever you want to me ... and be a complete dick." Casey: "As I would."[Thanks, Kristina!]
TiVo's Blue Moon special: TiVo HD, lifetime service for $698
Yeah, TiVo's Blue Moon special has been alive for a few weeks now, but for those unaware, we figured it prudent to pass along the deal in case you're interested in grabbing hold. From now until June 16th, interested consumers can snatch up a TiVo HD DVR, TiVo Wireless Adapter, a lifetime of service on the unit and an incredibly amazing TiVo plush doll for $698. Yes, that's less than the original price of the Series3 alone. So there you have it -- at least you've got ample time to think it over before deciding either way.[Thanks, Jonas]
Trick taming in Shadowmoon Village
Pretty funny-- Mania's Arcania issued a challenge to Alliance Hunters a few days ago to do something that might be impossible: tame the Shadowmoon Village stablemaster's pet wolf, Detrafila. The wolf is level 60, and according to Beast Lore, is actually tameable. But he's also surrounded by level 70 Horde, of course, so taming is not easy. Plus, some "pets" of NPCs are actually summoned pets, and therefore not tameable.But two Hunters were able to pull it off. Dezar on Black Dragonflight and Gettokiwi on Stormreaver were both able to kite the stablemaster away from Shadowmoon Village, take him out, and then tame the wolf after he'd dropped. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, the wolf doesn't have a special, identifiable look, and he doesn't actually come with any abilities, so there's not much reason to do it except for the experience.But it would be exceedingly cool for Blizzard to "hide" special tameable pets like this for expert Hunters to go after. I know there are a few other "special" tames around-- Spot in Menethil Harbor is one, as is Stanley, the dog the Horde poisons in Hillsbrad. But it would be cool to see a few more secret, more select tames for Hunters in Northrend. What d'ya say, Blizz?
Subtle limited-edition DS Lite from Hudson
Hudson's Momotaro Dentetsu series of video board games (think Mario Party) has always been popular in Japan. It's so popular, in fact, that it justifies limited-edition hardware. That's a little unsettling, to us. It's hugely popular, but has never been released outside of Japan. Of course, Japan needs limited-edition DS Lites-- and all DS Lites, more than we do. Maybe this will add to the total supply.This DS Lite comes packaged with Momotaro Dentetsu DS Tokyo & Japan, and features very small character portraits and the series title on the top of the system. It's a very restrained approach to the special edition system, which contrasts to the recent BeDazzling approach. Check after the break for a closeup of the system!
Know Your Lore Special: Tales of the Eastern Kingdoms
Azeroth is a beautiful world. From the jungles of Stranglethorn Vale to the bucolic fields of Westfall, from the deserts of Tanaris to the icy peaks of Winterspring, Azeroth is jam-packed with stunning scenery and, just as important, a deep sense of history. But sometimes it's hard to connect the Azeroth of WoW with that of the previous Warcraft lore. Where did Zin'Ashari sink into the sea? Where did Arthas kill his father? Where did Thrall and Grom Hellscream defeat Mannoroth? That's why Know Your Lore is presenting a special guide to the geography and history of Azeroth. Zone by zone, we'll go through important historical events and landmarks for both the Horde and Alliance. Today we're doing the Eastern Kingdoms, the center of human civilization on Azeroth. Ready? Okay!
Mii pants hacking
Blogger David Hawley has apparently uncovered, using a hex editor, the future of Nintendo avatar pants: "Special Miis" with pants of gold. If you can get your Mii over to your PC, then you can edit it in hexadecimal to create such a Special Mii. Special Miis cannot be copied, only moved; if you try to put two identical Special Miis in a Plaza, they will disappear.He has also figured out how to make "foreign" Miis, who are adorned with the blue pants worn by Miis made in other people's Wiis and visiting your Plaza. We have yet to verify this with our own Miis, so be careful when performing code surgery on your Mii.We wonder what Nintendo thought gold pants would be an appropriate reward for. Maybe they're planning a Studio 54 Channel?
iTunes Freebies: News Special
A free new documentary news special, Young Latinos In the Military, showed up today in the iTunes Store's TV section US: mun2 News Special - For My Country? Young Latinos In the MilitaryKeeping with its commitment to creating programming with a Latino sensibility, these quarterly news specials will focus on important issues affecting Latino youth. From the national headlines to community life, mun2 presents important issues as they relate to Latino youth and their families. Still free: US: Glamour Reel Moments: DealbreakerDealbreaker, was written and directed by Gwyneth Paltrow and Mary Wigmore and produced by Moxie Pictures for Glamour's Reel Moments series. The film was also accepted to the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. The films in the series are based on readers' real life stories and brought to the screen by Hollywood's leading talent. The making of these films - by women and for women - provided direct benefit to FilmAid International.This short film, Dealbreaker, was written and directed by Gwyneth Paltrow and Mary Wigmore and produced by Moxie Pictures for Glamour's Reel Moments series. The film was also accepted to the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. The films in the series are based on readers' real life stories and brought to the screen by Hollywood's leading talent. The making of these films - by women and for women - provided direct benefit to FilmAid International. US: Glamour Reel Moments: GnomeA festival favorite at the Berlin Film Festival, GNOME was written and directed by Jenny Bicks and stars Lauren Graham as part of the 2005 Glamour Reel Moments Short Film series. The films in the series are based on readers' real life stories and brought to the screen by some of Hollywood's most talented women. The making of these films - by women and for women - provided direct benefit to FilmAid International.A festival favorite at the Berlin Film Festival, GNOME was written and directed by Jenny Bicks and stars Lauren Graham as part of the 2005 Glamour Reel Moments Short Film series. The films in the series are based on readers' real life stories and brought to the screen by some of Hollywood's most talented women. The making of these films - by women and for women - provided direct benefit to FilmAid International.
Pentax unveils shiny LX Gold SLR to celebrate 60 years
What better to snap oodles of pictures at your Thanksgiving feast than with a gravy-proof (and gold-plated) SLR? Taking a note from the bevy of other Midas-touched gizmos out there, the Asahi Pentax LX Gold sports a thoroughly blinding paint job with faux-alligator accents to add an extra layer of tacky to an already gaudy device. Apparently aiming to bring back a taste of 1981 (when the 10 millionth Pentax SLR rolled off the production line; pictured after the jump), the company is seemingly reintroducing the vivid shooter to celebrate 60 years of staying afloat. Of course, we aren't sure how many of these splendiferous units will be offered up (or wanted at all), but we're sure it'll rock quite a premium for those somehow interested.
A special message from Nintendo Wii Fanboy
It's here, folks. For many of us, years of waiting ends tomorrow at 12:01 AM, a mere twenty-four hours from now. And indeed, perhaps almost as fun as the Wii itself will be the camping out, braving the elements with your fellow Nintendo die-hards. But, a word of caution.As you very well may know, the PS3 launch was horrendously chaotic. Reports are still coming in from around the country on various shootings, robberies, mayhem, and general discourtesy. It's true that Nintendo will have a larger initial stock, but the demand is no less. We at the Fanboy kindly ask that you show patience and kindness during your launch-day festivities, and remember that you're all there for a common purpose. Should you fail to claim a system on the day of, please, show respect and courtesy to those around you regardless. A few days truly isn't that long in the grand scheme of the things, and the last thing we want is to see someone get hurt over something designed to bring enjoyment and fun to the masses.And with that out of the way, it's time to rock this thing. Nintendo Wii, here we come!
Free Disco for your friends!
But... only if you took advantage of yesterday's macZOT offer! I see as of this morning Disco is still available for $14.95, so maybe the freebie is still valid. Apparently when you register, the surprize (sic) is revealed: another license to give away to a friend. That's a brilliant way to spread the love. If I buy a copy today, I'll update this post if the freebie is still available. Considering Disco's fantastic UI, cool tricks, and excellent implementation, what's going to happen to venerable (and for a while, pretty much standard) Toast? If they don't at least drop the price I'm not sure what advantages it would offer. I'd like to see El Gato build some support for Disco too, boy that'd be cool.Thanks, Timmay.
Fast and the Furious 3: Tokyo Drift HD DVD combo reviewed
The third installment of the Fast & the Furious movie franchise is finally on store shelves in HD DVD format so we can stop posting about it right? Not quite, as it's the first 30GB/9GB HD DVD/DVD combo disc, and includes HDi features at level we haven't seen before. The reviewer at High Def Digest has nothing but praise for the 1080p VC-1 transfer, with all the fast moving cars, CGI and loud colors it manages to keep up without any issues. The soundtrack isn't Dolby TrueHD but it also earns kudos for high quality.. The most interesting aspect of this release is the U-Control interface, surpassing any IME features we've seen so far. The viewer can access extras like director commentary, car information, and insurance damage estimates at any time while the movie continues to play. Some might be worried this is all too complicated, when all they want to do is sit back and watch fast cars, but the review says it's got a very simple learning curve. This could be the start of real next generation home theater experiences...or just another menu to skip during a quick rental of a popcorn flick.
Showtime Rumor Roundup
In the weeks leading up to an Apple Special Event, much of our little corner of the internet is abuzz with prognostication, rumors of what might be announced, and more editorial analysis than you can shake a stick at. Historically, all this speculation rans rampant with little to no new reiable information added to the discussion until the actual product announcements. This is how it has been since time immemorial (well, at least as long as Steve has been back at Apple), and how it would ever be... or so we thought. The announcements of updated iMacs and Mac minis throws a wrench into the workings of the rumor mill, stopping the coolant pumps, and causing the already heated debate to flare into a full fledged iClonflagration usually reserved for Macworld Stevenotes. The fact that the products announced on the 6th were accurately predicted means that at least some of the info floating around the web in regards to product announcements was correct, even if they were off by a week. If they were right about the iMac and Mac mini, who's to say they're any less correct in their other predictions? And if they are correct, what does that mean in terms of what we'll be seeing on Tuesday?
Apple to release a 23-inch Core 2 Duo iMac September 12th?
While trying to figure out why my TUAW Tips mailbox just choked and cried uncle, I finally found the source of the clog: too many tips to count started pouring in that the announced September 12th special event (not to be confused with the 25th) could be the announcement of a 23-inch iMac Core 2 Duo, not to be confused with the Core Duos in many Macs right now. This new chip is code named Merom (aren't Intel and their code name games cute?) and promises a 40% performance increase over current Core Duo chips, but with zero increase in power consumption.This rumor has blown up everywhere, from AppleInsider to MacRumors and, of course, Engadget. September 12th could easily be something big, as it isn't simply some arbitrarily chosen day - it coincides with the first day of Apple Expo Paris.Speculators - start your engines.
Constantine HD DVD release (Warner's) first for special features, Bourne Supremacy out now
Other than Keanu Reeves, star of The Matrix and Bill & Ted movies (the Bill & Ted flicks are far better as a series), the HD DVD release of Constantine that we mentioned earlier will also be the first to feature bonus content exclusive to the HD DVD version. Using what they are calling In-movie Experience (IME), you can watch an interview with the director while the film is still playing.This seems to be the first disc to use any iHD features, it will be interesting to see how well received this is by buyers, not to mention what sort of special features Blu-ray discs will launch with. Until now HD DVD has only offered SD extras copied direct from their DVD cousins, hopefully this marks the end of that era.Update: VideoBusiness has more information on Universal's release of The Bourne Supremacy, which contains similar interactive features and should be on store shelves near you for $34.98. Batman Begins, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (thanks WiFiSpy) and Dukes of Hazzard are also slated to get the interactive treatment, no release dates yet.
