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Atari Classics Evolved video shows redesigned graphics
Fans of retro games may want to pay close attention to Atari Classics Evolved. More than just a collection of the constantly-rehashed Atari games of yore, this PSP-exclusive collection remasters the visual presentation by completely redesigning the graphics of these classics. Check out Asteroids, featured above. Check out the rest at IGN.
MIT gurus propose asteroid tether
Taking a stroll across the moon is one thing, but trying to get your footing on an asteroid is apparently an entirely different beast. Due to the low gravity and granular covering present on such space rocks, the professionals have been unable to get up close and personal, but MIT researchers have devised a method for roping one in so that astronauts can partake in "an in-depth exploration of its composition." Essentially, a "lightweight rope" would be wrapped entirely around a given asteroid after being launched from a "remote-controlled rocket," which would then enable the space walkers to work on the delicate surface without too much fuss. Sounds like the perfect gizmo for the wannabe space cowboy, no?[Via CNET]
Atari announces new collection of Classics
Atari has just announced yet another retro compilation for PSP: Atari Classics Evolved will offer eleven updated games, including Asteroids, Asteroids Deluxe, Battlezone, Centipede, Lunar Lander, Millipede, Missile Command, Super Breakout, Tempest, Warlords and Pong. These "evolved" versions will include updated "up-to-date graphics," but will also be available in their original retro forms.In addition to these updated games, there will be more than 60 original Atari 2600 titles also included in the collection -- games such as: Yar's Revenge, Night Driver, Canyon Bomber and Crystal Castles.Online leaderboards will be provided for many of the games included in this compilation, developed by Stainless Games Ltd. Expect this to arrive on PSP this Fall.
Snakeball, Super Stardust HD en route to PSN
Sony has officially announced the impending arrival of two more PlayStation Network titles, each of them boasting hyper-rainbow visuals that are likely to induce a mental state similar to that following ingestion of a hallucinogenic substance. Not that we have any experience with that sort of thing. We do have some familiarity with Snake though, which you may remember as that slithering self-extension exercise available on every electronic device known to man. In Snakeball, you pilot a "bizarre hoversnake" across an "outlandishly dazzling disco floor," all the while devouring delicious spheres, blasting other players and whacking them with your bizarre hoversnake tail. The game supports online multiplayer, as well as the newly announced PlayStation Eye camera, ideal for plastering a face over your bizarre hoversnake pilot. Three Speech expects the game to arrive in July. %Gallery-2812% Super Stardust HD, to which the Sony blog gives a 15 June release date in Europe, is an arcade shooter built around the high concept of blasting defenseless asteroids to smithereens. A two-player co-op mode (it's unclear if this is local, online, or both), online rankings, 1080p resolution and a "seriously catchy soundtrack" are mentioned in the game's list of features. No word yet on what it costs to shoot at space rocks or pilot bizarre hoversnakes. %Gallery-2813%
Rumor: More Arcade titles from EA?
Fanboy reader and Xbox360Achievements.org Staffer DAKing240 posted an interesting rumor. The italics are necessary because while his source is directly from EA, he was asked to be kept anonymous. So really, it's kind of confirmed yet kind of not. The rumor itself, is that aside from Boom Boom Rocket, EA has more Xbox Live Arcade titles in the works. The one he got specific information about was a Xbox Live multiplayer Asteroids knock off, that is currently in beta testing. Also gleaned from the source's statement is that there are various weapons and power ups as well as the multiplayer sounds like it supports more than 2 players. That's all we have for now but evidently EA may be releasing more information in the near future. We'll keep you posted. So, does "4 player Geometry Wars" pique your interest? Or do you expect there to be Marketplace downloads required for each weapon, power up, and life?
Explosive data mining robots could be sent to hazardous asteroids
Sending robotic creatures into space has become somewhat of a worldwide pastime, but sending explosive robots to take care of multiple acts of business is what Dennis Ebbets of Ball Aerospace in Boulder, Colorado has on his mind. In a recent presentation given to the American Astronomical Society, Mr. Ebbets described a fleet of robotic probes small and cheap enough to "investigate a near-Earth asteroid's composition and structure." The devices would be battery-powered and would only be useful for a matter of days, but during the time it was on the asteroid, it would collect data of the surface, explode, and allow other still-in-tact siblings to "listen for vibrations that could reveal the object's inner structure." Considering that NASA has compiled a list of over 800 asteroids that could be potentially dangerous to our planet due to their orbit, these exploding bots would serve a dual purpose as they erupted on the surface to break up the asteroid or veer it off course, all while collecting precious data about the "inner structures" of these mysterious rocks. Although funding still isn't guaranteed for the volatile critters to take off just yet, as many as six of the 12-kilograms probes could loaded onto a single spacecraft and launched to its destination "relatively cheaply," and if things go as planned, we could see the first of these gizmos gettin' dirty by 2011.
Is that a working Atari joystick in your pocket...
Tired of consoles that take up valuable entertainment center real estate? How about one that fits on your keychain instead? A new line of miniature Atari 2600 joysticks and paddles actually hook up to your TV to play built-in games. The mini-systems, which include two or three classic Atari games each, hook up to a TV through a six-foot RCA cord and external AAA battery pack.We wonder how playable these games are on such small controllers, but just the idea of a TV console that fits in your pocket intrigues us. Now if we could only get a pocket sized Intellivision, we'd really be in business.[Via Random Good Stuff]
