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PlayStation troop salute deploys playable PS4s to Kansas
Sony announced that it will entertain troops stationed at the Fort Riley military base in Kansas next week with a collection of playable PlayStation 4 games and a live concert from country star Brett Eldredge. The gaming-friendly Fort Riley, which hosts a dedicated video game area in its Warrior Zone recreation center, is the next scheduled stop on Sony's ongoing Road to Greatness tour. Sony's PlayStation truck will offer playable versions of upcoming PlayStation 4 games at Fort Riley on Tuesday and Wednesday next week, along with contests and giveaways for attendees. The event is open to the public, and begins at 11:00 a.m. on June 10 and 11. [Image: Sony]
Boston Dynamics shows a quieter, more thoroughbred AlphaDog to DARPA and the Marines (video)
When we last saw Boston Dynamics' AlphaDog (aka LS3), it was strutting through outdoor trials with the subtlety of a nuclear missile: for all that noise, it might as well have been holding a "shoot here please" sign broadcasting American soldiers' positions to everyone in the forest. Several months later, the company is showing both DARPA and the Marine Corps a refined version of its load-carrying robot that has clearly been through a few rounds of obedience school. While we still wouldn't call the four-legged hauler stealthy, it's quiet enough to avoid the role of bullet magnet and lets nearby troops chat at reasonable volumes. And yes, there's new tricks as well. AlphaDog can speed up its travel over difficult surfaces and move at up to a 5MPH jog, all while it's following a human squad. DARPA and the Marines recently began testing and improving the robot over a two-year period that should culminate in an Advanced Warfighting Experiment with the Marines to test viability under stress. If AlphaDog passes that bar, there's a good chance many on-foot soldiers will have a mechanical companion -- and quite a weight lifted off of their shoulders.
Daily iPhone App: Ravenmark: Scourge of Estellion
Turn-based strategy warfare is a genre that's surprisingly easy to come by on iOS -- there are a lot of games out there that let you pit various forces against each other in a turn-based battle. But it is hard to come by a really great example of one of these on the App Store, and fortunately Ravenmark: Scourge of Estellion does it right. This is the first game from a company called Witching Hour Studios, and as their website says, the title shows that they're trying "not so much to make a quick buck," but to actually set up a story and a world that feels epic even on the iPhone's little screen. Ravenmark feels exactly that. The story and lore feel super solid, and the tactical gameplay uses a sort of expanded rock/paper/scissors system that plays well and offers up all sorts of engagements to command. Various troop types do more damage to others (ranged defeats infantry, for example, but ranged can be beaten by cavalry), and troops can be joined up into sets of one, two, or three, each with their own abilities and special functions. If you've never played a turn-based strategy game, this one might get you into it. It's relatively simple, though obviously can get more complex over time (and there's plenty of depth here to explore over 15 missions, if you do want to get into the nitty gritty of tactics). The graphics are clean and smart, and while the interface does kind of boil down to a series of menus, it's still simple enough that it's easy to direct your troops to where they need to go. There's no RPG elements, really, other than an really deep ongoing story, but this game doesn't profess to be an RPG, so it works just fine (for now -- it definitely feels like there are more games to be set in this world). In fact, the only issue with Ravenmark is that it is so short, and it's constrained only to the small screen for now. But both of those issues are set to be fixed with a free update by Christmas (with new content and a universal version), so if you're interested in either dipping your toe into turn-based tactical strategy, or just really want to play a very well-done and polished example of the genre, this one's for you. It's available right now for US$2.99.
Audio battlefield would prepare troops for combat or a typical Slayer concert
Ever wondered how well playing Call of Duty at maximum volume mimics a real combat experience? Researchers at the Missouri University of Science and Technology must have asked a similar question, because they've built a 64-speaker surround-sound audio battlefield designed to train new troops. The system reproduces screaming fighter jets, rumbling tanks, and persistent gunfire -- all the better to acclimate recruits to the overwhelming, disorienting cacophony of warfare. Veterans say even with the four large 20-hertz subwoofers, it's nowhere near the real thing: combat volume is 25 percent louder than the average rock concert, at levels that can cause permanent hearing loss. Still, the creators say every bit of training helps; having near-combat experience is certainly better than none at all. So tell that to your neighbors next time they bang on your wall. [Image via The Associated Press]
TUAW's Daily App: Highborn
Highborn is an interesting little App Store title. It won't be for everyone -- it's a turn-based strategy game that has a pretty steep learning curve, and while the actual game itself is pretty casual as games like this go, players unfamiliar with of moving troops around could find it confusing. But those interested in the genre (the gameplay actually reminded me a lot of Nintendo's Advance Wars series) will find it a fun distraction. You control troops and heroes on a tesselated board, and can pit various units against each other in battle. The story is silly and fun, and the emphasis is on simple advantages and odds rather than hardcore troop placement and balance. It's not the only game of its kind on the App Store (Battle for Wesnoth is another example for a bit more money), but Highborn is a fun and original title that combines the basics of turn-based tactical strategy with a fun fantasy story and a portable package. It's on an introductory sale right now for US$2.99.
Supreme Commander 2 screens and units ready for duty
click to see the whole battlefield Big-time RTS Supreme Commander 2 is rolling ever closer to release next month, and to whet your appetite for (unit) production, we've got some new screens and descriptions of three of the units you'll be Supreme Commanding around the battlefield. First up is the Bomb Bouncer, a shielded unit that gains power as it's fired upon and can then throw all of that stored-up damage right back in the faces of any units around it. The Pulinsmash is a unit that creates a vortex to "pull and smash" surrounding units into it, damaging and disrupting them like popcorn in a popper. Finally, the Kraken, as you can see on the right in the picture above, is a sea creature-shaped Cybran experimental submarine that can take down other subs, aircraft and even battlebots on land. Sure, these machines are awesome to go to war with, and we get the whole "commanding the troops" thing, but don't forget that every one of these rank-and-file units has a family. What about the supreme children, Commander? %Gallery-84795%
New troops charity seeks your handheld spares
You should have seen us when we were fifteen. 'Orrible, we were. All sulky, zit-ridden, and full of attitude (of course, we're regular sunbeams now) as we moped around in our NAFNAF jumpers and spent most of our free time scowling at the profound injustice of the world.We certainly weren't as impressive or as honorable as, say, young teens Peter Gallagher and Jack Wilson, who spent an inordinate amount of time and effort setting up GamesforHeroes.com, a non-profit, registered charity that aims to get handheld games and systems (DSes, Game Boys, that Sony one, N-Gages) into the mitts of the brave men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Gallagher tipped our daddy site Joystiq about their project, and asked if they could shed some light on this worthy cause. They did, and now we're doing the same!Obviously, there are similar initiatives going on elsewhere -- at least one of which we've posted about -- but you can never have enough goodwill, eh? Hit the "Read" link below to see how you can help out.[Via Joystiq]
Make those used game trade-ins worthwhile by donating to troops
Many of you aren't fans of a certain trade-in retailer that we know, so why not donate some of your used games instead?Drew Koehler started Trade-ins for Troops, a charity dedicated to giving used video games to U.S. soldiers that are currently overseas. As Koehler puts it, "I think there are a lot of people that may be interested in supporting in a non-financial way, and it's a great opportunity to show the world that gamers care about our troops and would want to see them supported while they are away from home." We agree, good sir. The charity is especially interested in receiving handheld titles, since portable systems are popular among the troops, but all games are welcome. Video games are a welcome distraction to the men and women overseas, so this charity seems like a nice and easy way to give back a little for the sacrifices they've had to make. With that said, it's time for us to stop being PSA Fanboy; and now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.
Vcommunicator Mobile translates so troops don't have to
Using a regular iPod loaded up with a bunch of Arabic and Kurdish phrases, a company called Vcom3D has created a makeshift language translator that 160 troops in Iraq are already using. The iPod features different "playlists" for different scenarios, with relevant phrases included on MP3s. The contents of the MP3s include on-screen Arabic and English text forms, with a phonetic version of the Arabic phrases also included. The package comes with a sturdy armband case, with a speaker attached further up the arm for one hand operation. Sounds like a cheap and practical approach to the problem of communication in Baghdad and beyond.
Hacker's project sends media-filled hard drives to troops
A network engineer going by the hacker handle 'Deviant Ollam' has taken it upon himself to send care packages of a different sort to troops serving overseas, with him ditching the usual goods in favor of hard drives filled with movies, music and other content. That's the basis for his Traveling Terabyte Project, which is apparently still operating on a relatively small scale, although "Ollam" hopes it'll pick up once he gets a website up and running. The hard drives themselves are packed in an appropriately olive-drab Pelican case, which also includes all the necessary USB cables and international power adapters. As the name of the project suggests, the hard drives aren't intended to stay in one place forever, with recipients of them encouraged to add their own files before sending 'em on to another location. For their part, the troops that have received the hard drives so far seem to dig the idea, especially considering that high-speed internet is hard to come by in many of the locations they're stationed.
Pentagon plans ultrasonic curtain to muffle loud tanks
Although Macroswiss' giraffe pole could certainly lend our soldiers a hand in peeking across enemy lines, someone with a good bit of execution authority would rather we take a more direct approach to encroaching on the baddies. A Pentagon-based budget layout has revealed plans for an "ultrasonic curtain" to be constructed in a presumed attempt to "significantly" muffle vehicles and loud machinery in order to get our troops closer to foes without being noticed. While the actual construction plans aren't entirely laid out, the device will purportedly use "directed ultrasound technology to enable the capability to significantly reduce sound emissions from large scale tactical military hardware," and they hope to lower noise by "at least 30-decibels" in order to allows troops to operate in close proximity to the enemy without being detected aurally. Of course, cracking trees and unforeseen sneezes could still remain a problem, but there are already plans in place to "validate the theoretical models in laboratory settings," estimate the power required to sustain such a sound shield, and to design a finished product that can cover "a truck-sized vehicle." Sadly, it doesn't seem that this project will be integrating the invisibility cloak already discovered, so a flurry of bubble boy jokes is bound to arise. Wired]
Call of Duty 3 announced; leak confirmed [update 1]
Call of Duty 3's just been confirmed, and it looks like we were right on the money with our early leak of the WWII-related game.Back in early March, we printed the following information (and a whole lot more) on the focus of an upcoming sequel: "'CoD 3' ... is being produced by Big Red One dev Treyarch. ... The next Call of Duty World War II-based title will return gamers to the battlefields of Normandy as the Allies take on Nazi Germany to drive them out of France once and for all. This time around, American and British forces are joined by Canadian troops, Polish tanks, and French freedom fighters in a reenactment of the bloody Normandy Breakout campaign spearheaded during the summer of 1944. In the push to Paris, you'll get to choose how you approach each mission, free of menu screens and jarring non-interactive cut-scenes."Here's what IGN quoted from Activision for the announcement yesterday: "Through the eyes of four Allied soldiers, Call of Duty 3 brings players closer to the fury of combat as they fight through the Normandy Breakout, the harrowing offensive that liberated Paris and changed the fate of the world. Developed by Treyarch, Call of Duty 3 is the follow up to the #1 next-generation game and is scheduled for a 2006 release." Fingering the developer and the setting? Not too shabby -- while Joystiq pats itself on the back.Check out the IGN trailer below for a first-person look somewhat reminiscent of the FPS sequence in the Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer from TGS. At the end of the "official E3 teaser" trailer, a number of platforms are listed, with the major manufacturers (including a small "Nintendo Revolution" in text) and publisher/developer combo listed. We suspect that versions for the PC and possibly the current-gen consoles will be covered with ports as well. Now all we have to do is wait for the word on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. (Infinity Ward, we're looking at you!) More info obviously hitting at E3.[Thanks, icemorebutts, jason, & Hiro Protagonist][Update 1: Had to fix a verb. Thanks, Hiro Protagonist, John Q, & Jiiiiihad!]See also: Official E3 teaser trailer for Call of Duty 3 Next Call of Duty leaked: Modern Warfare tackles terrorists Rumor: Call of Duty joining the Revolution Kojima interacts in real-time with MGS4 trailer at TGS
