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PSN Blacklight: Tango Down to include exclusive map
Click to enlarge Ignition has revealed that one of the "exclusive" features of the PSN version of Blacklight: Tango Down will be a new map. Dubbed Crossover, the battleground sees the Order -- a.k.a. "the bad guys" -- hijacking a train and loading it with explosives. Conversely, Blacklight (the good guys) must sabotage the tracks in order to save the train -- and, hopefully, avoid derailing it into a massive kablooey! The PSN version of Blacklight will also include a new, previously announced "Join in Progress" feature.
Lost Planet 2 getting guest characters from Dead Rising, Monster Hunter
[Famitsu] A handful of Lost Planet 2 screenshots from Famitsu have revealed the game will borrow the stars of two more franchises: Frank West from Dead Rising and the Scaly Knife-Gun Dude from Monster Hunter, the latter being exclusive to the PS3 version of the game. For those of you keeping track, these two join Gears of War's Marcus and Dom (who will only appear in the 360 version), Resident Evil's Wesker, and What's His Face from Lost Planet 2 in the fight against the calamitous, towering Akrid. Though most of these crossovers seem pretty out of place, we're betting the dude from Monster Hunter will be right at home bringing down monsters the size of football stadiums. That kind of thing is right in his wheelhouse.
Monster Hunter sneaks into Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Kojima Productions recently held a press conference in Japan to celebrate the completion of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, which is set to shed its cardboard box cover for a very visible spot on Japanese store shelves come April 29. During the event, it was revealed that there would be Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G content in the Konami-published game. The collaboration should ensure that every Japanese citizen will now buy Peace Walker, regardless of whether they own a PSP (that's just how it works). 1UP confirms the content will also be in the US version of the game. Monster Hunter's Felynes -- little cat-like things that act as support in Capcom's title -- will have a presence in Peace Walker. On top of that, some of the rations in Hideo Kojima's latest sneak-'em-up will appear as "well-cooked rations," a play on Monster Hunter's well-cooked meat. Also: Snake will hunt monsters, so ... yeah. Kojima justified the crazy crossover by playing the Jurassic Park card -- specifically, that Peace Walker takes place in Costa Rica. "I figured it'd be the perfect opportunity," he told Japanese mag Famitsu. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker will be out in Europe and North America on May 28 and June 8, respectively. To check out some footage from the Monster Hunter unveiling, pay a visit to the Kojima Productions website.
Rumor: Steam coming to the Mac?
Telltale Games recently held a Mac revolution, and that was a nice piece of news for Mac gamers, but this would be a "game-changer": Valve may be considering bringing their Steam platform over to the Mac. They released the beta version of the new UI for their digital game delivery system, and a few users found some "OSX" icons hidden in the game files. Unfortunately, that makes this just a rumor (it's certainly possible the icons were simply included in some stray bit of code, as they appear to be simple window controls, not actual game code), but if there's anything to this at all, it would be huge for us Mac gamers: Steam comprises a gigantic library of present and classic PC games, and bringing even a portion of them over to the Mac would be terrific. CrossOver Games has been working with Steam in the past, and they already have most of Steam's biggest games up and running on the Mac platform through emulation. If there's a partnership between the two companies, or if Steam is planning to take advantage of the demand for their games running on OS X, that would be great. We'll keep our eyes open. Ever since Apple switched over to Intel, there's been more potential than ever for Mac gaming, and Steam on the platform would be amazing.
How to run Windows apps for free with Wine on OS X
There are many options for running Windows programs on the Mac. Boot Camp, for instance, is included with OS X for installing Windows on a separate partition. Parallels, VMware, and Sun offer virtualization software that let you run your Windows programs without logging out of OS X. And then there's Wine. Wine is an Open Source application layer that runs within the Mac operating system rather than as a stand-alone, sandboxed operating system. The thing that all of these options, except Wine, have in common though is that they legally require you to actually run Windows and therefore own a Windows license. Wine, however, implements the Windows API allowing you to run Windows applications without actually running Windows. David Baumgold has put together an excellent tutorial for setting up and using Wine on your Mac. The tutorial does a good job covering the pre-requisites, the actual installation, and then what to do with Wine once you have it installed. It should be noted that the installation of Wine is rather technical and should not be attempted by those unfamiliar with Terminal.app. Once you get Wine up and running, you can install a myriad of different Windows applications from games to productivity apps (Office, anyone?). If you're curious about a particular program's compatibility with Wine, you can check out the AppDB for a list of applications and any issues present when running with Wine. If you're interested in the technical benefits of Wine, you can also check out the excellent application Crossover, which is an easy-to-use port of Wine (pun intended) that makes it dead simple to get up and running with Wine.
CrossOver Games releases version 8.1.0
The folks behind CrossOver Games sent us a note that version 8.1.0 of their software has come out, and it's got some nice upgrades for Mac and Linux folks who prefer to run their games in Windows almost-emulators (it's based on Wine, and as we all know, Wine Is Not an Emulator) rather than Boot Camping over to the real thing. We tried out CrossOver Games a while back, and found it lacking in almost everything but Steam games, but actually that's OK, because lately Steam has a lot of games going on. Accordingly, this new version has support built-in for the brand new Left 4 Dead 2, as well as fixes for Steam's voice chat, a few upgrades for WoW on Linux and Guild Wars, and a couple of changes to ensure compatibility with Snow Leopard. Sounds like a nice solid upgrade -- owners of the software can grab it for free, or you can try out the app for yourself from their website. In case you don't have the app yet, CodeWeavers also let us know that they're giving away a Linux rig that's the "ultimate" in... wait for it... gaming. Yes, putting together a Linux rig for gaming is like putting a UFC fighter on a dance show, but we guess stranger things have happened. Anyway, CrossOver Games will definitely help you play at least a few games on the decked-out rig, if you want a shot at winning the thing, all you have to do is pick up the software before December 1st. They'll pick a name out of a hat, and if it's yours, there'll be an awesome 'nix box headed your way. Good luck with getting smooth fullscreen Flash video to work. We kid! You Linux guys make it so easy. Oh wait, what's that? Flash on the iPhone? I have no idea what you're talking about.
CrossOver Games supports Wrath of the Lich King
If you're a Linux user worried whether you can play Wrath on your preferred operating system, there's some good news for you. CodeWeaver has confirmed that their CrossOver Games system-compatability product will continue to support World of Warcraft, even if your account includes Wrath of the Lich King. You don't even have to upgrade to a new CrossOver build. The current 7.10 version will run Wrath "just peachy," says CodeWeaver's COO John Parshall. According to the press release we recieved from CodeWeaver, Parshall apparantly did most of the Wrath "testing" himself. "I played well into my mid-70s on several of my characters," said Parshall. Like 99% of the WoW population, the COO also played a Death Knight to about level 60. So, you can rest confidently knowing your Death Grip is totally okay with Linux. The press release obviously didn't say whether he tanked or not, but I'm going to assume a Linux guru has the skills to pay the bills, as it were. CrossOver's web site does warn that there may be a few small problems, but that the game runs smoothly and exceedingly well. It comes just shy of running "flawlessly." Given that the COO of the company seems to be a devoted fan, you can assume that any serious problems will be worked out soon enough.
CrossOver allows MMO gameplay on Mac, free Tuesday only
Most people don't pick up a Mac to use as their primary gaming machine, but for players of titles like World of Warcraft and EVE Online, the OS X client makes MMO gaming possible for them. But the majority of MMO clients are PC only, requiring Mac users to turn to Boot Camp and dual boot Windows XP or Vista. Another option open to MMO players who use Macs is CrossOver from Codeweavers, which allows virtualization of PC programs and games within OS X (and Linux), with no Windows license required.Our friends over at TUAW came across a one-day price reduction on CrossOver... that price being 'free'. That's right, all of Codeweavers' products -- CrossOver Mac, CrossOver Games, and CrossOver Linux -- will be free on Tuesday, October 28, but only for that day. There's a bit of a story behind this, which you can read all about over at TUAW, who have all of the details and restrictions related to this offer. But for MMO gamers who are into their Macs, all you really need to know is that CrossOver will allow you to play quite a number of games, MMO and otherwise. Check out the full list of games supported, and get ready to download your free copy. Your 24-hour window to get CrossOver begins at midnight on Tuesday, October 28th. The CrossOver deal is a $40 license giveaway, limited to one license per person, and requires an Intel Mac running either Tiger or Leopard.
Codeweavers says cheap gas = free software today
Update 10/28: Welcome, Digg fans. CodeWeavers' site is getting crunched under the massive demand for the free versions of CrossOver, so there is now a minimal site at down.codeweavers.com that will accept your email address; you will be mailed your registration code in the next couple of days. --- original post below --- Three months ago, CodeWeavers CEO Jeremy White offered a challenge to another CEO -- the nation's chief executive, George W. Bush. If the president achieved one of White's six "Lame Duck" goals during the twilight of his 2nd term, White would make Windows-API enabler & WINE GUI CrossOver free to customers for one day. Some considered White's proposal a great motivational tool for GWB; others found it smug, partisan and kind of a goofy way to promote the company's products, but in any event none of his six challenges seemed to be on the path to achievement, so that's where the story should have ended. CrossOver is a fine way to run Windows apps on your Mac, but as a force for political change, not so much. Then a funny thing happened on the way to January 20th: due to global economic conditions and through no fault of the president, the price of crude oil dropped precipitously and the cost of gasoline moved in parallel... bringing the average price per gallon in Minneapolis down to the target $2.79 level called for in White's goal #1. Can anyone say "Taco?" The Star-Tribune is reporting that White is planning to follow through on his pledge: on Tuesday 10/28, all CodeWeavers products (CrossOver Mac, Linux & Games) will be freely downloadable. One license per customer, and we assume that the free licenses will be for the standard versions of the apps. Update: Word from CodeWeavers execs is that the free license will be for a download-only flavor of the Pro version (!), including the Games optimized build and the option to share a Windows 'bottle' among multiple users on the same machine. You will have to choose either the Mac or Linux product for your free copy (and I'm looking forward to the stats on that split once the dust settles). Pro licenses are eligible for support/update renewals after one year for $35. You might argue with White's politics or his promotional instincts, but you can't argue with free software. CrossOver Mac normally retails for $40 and requires an Intel machine running either Tiger or Leopard. Update 2: A number of commenters have pointed out that the original challenge rules said the giveaway day would be on the first of the month following the goal, meaning Nov. 1 instead of Oct. 28. CodeWeavers' press release confirms that the giveaway day will be 10/28 and not 11/1. The giveaway runs from midnight to midnight CST. Thanks Austin!
CrossOver creates Chromium just to show they can do it
Mike Rose and I were chatting about this on the Talkcast a few weeks back -- virtualization and emulation programmers get all John Locke from Lost when you try to tell them what's not possible. And so when the guys at CrossOver heard that Google wasn't releasing Chrome for the Mac, they decided to put together a release themselves. CrossOver Chromium is a proof-of-concept release of the Chromium browser (which Chrome is built off of) that allows Google's base code to run on Mac and Linux platforms.It's designed to show off just how well Wine works to bring Windows-based code to other platforms, and wake Google up to the fact that if they wanted to port Chrome over, they could. CrossOver says they did this to prove a point (and the point seems proven), but it's likely not only that Google wants to run the code natively, but that they wanted to focus on their largest audience first, which anyone can tell you is likely still the Windows crowd.Even CrossOver says their version isn't ready for prime-time yet, they just wanted to show how fast it could be done. Let this be a lesson, Google: don't tell virtual software developers what they can't do.
Commence chin stroking: New book mixes Zelda and Philosophy
Zelda fan Luke Cuddy was so inspired by his favorite franchise that he went one step further than scribbling down some fan-fiction: he actually compiled a book on Zelda, tied it in with his knowledge of pop philosophy, and found a publisher for it.Okay, so it's probably not going to be Sartre or anything, but if you do purchase this when it releases on November 28th, you'll be able to ponder such musings as: How does the gamer experience the game? Does Link have a will, or do gamers project their wills onto him? How does time function? Can Hyrule be seen as an ideal society? Can the game be enjoyable without winning? Deeeeep, man. And it goes without saying that there's also the perennial gamer/pseud's favorite: is Zelda art?%Gallery-29660%[Via Go Nintendo]
Sears uses virtual worlds for back-to-school marketing strategy
Summer vacation is setting fast. Soon school classrooms will fill back up with eager students looking to display their latest duds and focus on buffing their intelligence. Shopping has to ensue before that big first day back, and Sears and coolness don't go together nor is it the likely first shopping choice. That's not preventing their marketing department from attempting to target teens in the back-to-school spending craze. Sears has a new strategy which is to promote their products and brand name through social networks and virtual worlds frequently inhabited by teens and kids. The new virtual Sears fronts are endless arriving all across the Metaverse. A fashion event will he held in the Sears virtual store in Zwinky's Zwinchester Mall. 3d avatar creator Meez also has Sears B-T-S boutique offering clothing, backgrounds, and animations. Additional promotions will run across Alloy. The Gofish network will be hosting a runway contest in the Cartoon Doll Emporium and also at WeeWorld. Another Sears shop is present in Poptropica and The-N.com. NeoPets has some virtual Sears's goodies in their summer faire event. If that wears you out, Sears wants everyone to lounge around. It's commercial fun for the whole family, well not this blogger. Nonetheless, it's still interesting to see the searing crossover.[Via Virtual World News]
Give me a reason to fight!
Kylie Prymus is the first columnist for PS Fanboy. A Ph.D candidate in philosophy, Kylie specializes in the sociology of technology. Through this new weekly column, Kylie will explore the impact of PlayStation on thought and culture. This may not sound like a paradigm shattering piece of news, but I'm excited about Soulcalibur IV. Virtua Fighter may hold my heart for technical fighting games, but that tale of souls and swords, eternally retold still manages to bring out the button-mashing kid in me. You remember transcending history and the world, don't you? You don't?I remember that tale. I remember long nights debating the merits and flaws of the Soul Edge and Soul Blade and trying to understand the metaphysics behind good and evil swords transforming to fit their wielder. It was a mighty fine fighting game too, but it was the story that kept me coming back to complete the game with each and every character. Back then I could tell you the motivations of just about every character in every fighting game I played. Nowadays you're lucky if you even get endings.
The state of WoW on Linux
During the dev panel a few minutes ago, Tom Chilton told us something interesting about playing World of Warcraft on the Linux platform -- Blizzard has actually had it working. For "compatibility purposes," they apparently had an internal build of the game that worked on Linux. But unfortunately for Linux users, they have no plans at all to bring the final game out on the system. They didn't expound much more than that, but of course we can imagine all kinds of reasons they'd hesitate to release a Linux version, first and foremost being that in terms of gamers on the platform, the marketshare just isn't there.Of course, this doesn't mean you can't ever play WoW on Linux, it just means you can't do so off the shelf. WoWWiki has some really great information on how to play WoW with WINE (which just, by the way, reached a 1.1.0 release, and allows you to play Windows programs on other platforms). Transgaming's Cedega is also supposed to work with World of Warcraft (and you probably won't get banned), and Codeweaver's CrossOver also is approved to work with World of Warcraft on Linux.So there are ways to play it, but you might have to do some tweaking. Still, we wish they'd told us more about why they don't want to release the client they builtt
CrossOver 7 supports Office 2007, Adobe CS2 and more
CodeWeavers has released CrossOver 7.0 for Mac, adding support for Microsoft Office 2007, Adobe CS and CS2, and improving "online banking integration" in Quicken 2007 & 2008. Unlike Boot Camp or virtualization solutions like Parallels and VMware, CrossOver allows you to run Windows software on your Intel Mac without actually running Windows. Other changes include various bug fixes and improved support for IE and "modern Linux" distros like Ubuntu.CrossOver 7.0 is $39.95 for the Standard edition and $69.95 for the Pro edition that includes CrossOver Games and more support. A demo is available for download.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
No Windows? Use Linux, Intel Macs for PC Gaming with CrossOver
Sure, Mac gaming is becoming less of an oxymoron these days, but if you want to game with a keyboard, Windows is still the way to go. Fortunately, Codeweavers' has concocted a solution for those who want the PC gaming experience on Mac (and Linux!) without using Boot Camp or partitioning drives. Introducing CrossOver Games.We're not going to get into the technical side of it because, quite frankly, we don't understand it all. The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) has an extensive hands-on and gallery walkthrough (see below) of the $40 program, and found the software satisfying overall, especially for use with Steam. (You can view a compatibility list here.) There's also a 30-day free trial available. Gallery: TUAW's Hands on with CrossOver Games
Gaming-specific CrossOver coming soon
MacWindows reports that CrossOver (which was already doing pretty well with Windows games inside OS X) is planning to release a gaming-optimized version of their virtualization software. It'll be called CrossOver Gaming, and while we're not actually given details of how it's going to be "optimized" for games, we are told that it will be compatible with more Windows games than ever before.Additionally, the new version will actually be a subscription model-- instead of just buying the software, you'll pay $5 a month (presumably for quick updates on brand new games). Other than that, we're not quite sure what advantage CrossOver's system will have over, say, running games in Windows via Boot Camp (seems to me that if you have the hardware to run Windows games, you have the hardware to run Windows and games at the same time), but we'll have to see-- CrossOver says the new Gaming version is due sometime later this year.[Via IMG]
Shifting Perspectives: The Druid-Shammy double whammy
Every Tuesday, Shifting Perspectives explores issues affecting druids and those who group with them.Lately I have been leveling a Shaman, and I was surprised to learn that Druids (my all-time favorite class) and Shamans (might become my second favorite) are quite similar. I know I am a Shammy noob, having never leveled one before, but am quickly learning to love them and hoping to suck in all the knowledge I can in coming days. Not only with Shamans and Druids, I guess you could say that there is a lot of class crossover in many areas, for example, a Warlock functions much like a Hunter, being a long ranged fighter with a pet, or how druids double up on many of the Rogue's trademarks, at least in feral form. The list is endless, and I could go on, but after all, this is a Druid column, so let's get to it.I don't think crossover is all that uncommon, nor is it detrimental to any class, in fact, much of the time, the class crossover actually helps and can fill a void especially in instances when your (insert loser class here) bailed on you at the last second before a big fight. This is what makes druids the cream of the cat, um, crop. We druids can do almost everything, but with varying degrees of effectiveness depending on spec, motivation, and of course fun-ness index. Shammies are also quite versatile and varied in their skills, which makes me like them for sure, and thus our first class crossover comparison between Druids and Shammies today.
CrossOver 6.2 supports Team Fortress 2
The latest version of CrossOver, Codeweavers' Mac and Linux application designed to get Windows games and applications working on those systems, has been released. CrossOver 6.2, now available, features a number of different updates both to increase compatibility and to make Windows applications run faster than ever.And first among these updates is the fact that it will now run Team Fortress 2 right out of Valve's new Orange Box, as seen in the video above (caution: awkward narrative and bad acting ahead-- skip to about 2:09 to see the actual product). They're also saying it features improvements when working with Outlook, and, in the strangest feature description ever, they say it really will work much faster-- when you install Leopard.CrossOver is available as a free trial on their website, and to promote the new release, you can get it for 10% off when you enter "zomg" as a special deal in the shopping cart. Has anyone tried running TF2 in Boot Camp yet? If that doesn't work so well, and you've really got to play Valve's new game, CrossOver might be the way to go.[via IMG]
Today's best crossover video: Fighters and shoot-'em-ups
Our latest trip down the internet's (You) Tubes leaves us basking in the mash-up glory of JudgeSpear. This videomaker's page showcases dozens of game crossovers, with characters from different titles fighting, and even non-gaming characters get inserted into the action. While a little long, we especially like one of the shoot-'em-up crossovers, where a spaceship is piloted through several fighting games and even a GameBoy version of Super Mario Bros.If you're still not convinced, let this sway you: Mike Tyson makes an appearance near the end. Watch the video after the break.
