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Gaming in West Africa: Only 7 years behind
To cut a long story short and to create a forced feeling of mystery and intrigue, I'll simply point out that, on my way back home from E3 last week, I was stranded for 24 hours in Senegal, a quaint little country situated in Western Africa. And by "quaint little country", I really mean a place that technology actively flees from in blind terror. When my laptop attempted to find an active Wi-Fi hotspot, canned laughter could be heard emanating from somewhere in the universe. And so, with Guitar Hero controller strapped to my back (simultaneously a piece of carry-on luggage and a bold image), I began to explore the vast and largely undeveloped wasteland that was the country's...airport building. Leave it to a gaming nerd to find a store selling games in such an obscure place. Judging by the veritable cornucopia of new releases lining the shelves, the country's gaming scene is sure to take off. Some of the games burning up the Senegalese sales charts include: Fifa '99 (don't worry, it plays the same as this year's version) Shadow Warrior Star Wars: Behind the Magic (which isn't even a game) Pong I would have taken the time to pre-order a Sega Saturn at the counter, but the French language barrier proved to be insurmountable. I'll be better prepared next time I get stranded here.
Two new sports demos hit XBLM
Two new treats for any sports-gamers out there. A little something old not so old -- a demo for EA's FIFA World Cup 06 soccer game, which launched alongside the system in November -- and a little something new -- a demo for 2K Sports' tennis-sim Top Spin 2, which came out late last month. A nice little pre-E3 treat. Top Spin 2 developer, Indie Built, was recently closed down by Take-Two, publishers of the 2K Sports series and owners of the Salt Lake City developer. [Thanks, Arsamore & Carl-Tang] (Update: corrected the timeliness of the FIFA demo. Thanks HoTHiTTeR360 and BraveQuail. Can you tell I don't play sports games much? Seriously though... they just came out with a soccer game less than six months ago! What could they have changed?!)
Metareview - 2006 FIFA World Cup
Though EA has released several FIFA iterations this year, the new 2006 World Cup might be worth a look if you haven't played the series in a while and have $30 bucks to spare. If anything it should get you pumped for the world's largest sporting event if you're a futbol buff. IGN 84% - "EA put together its most solid soccer gameplay experience yet and the deepest World Cup title of all time. Still, it's hard to argue that the gameplay, an obvious imitation of Winning Eleven, is better, but with star players and a nifty new shooting mechanism, it would be hard to argue it's worse." Games Radar 70% - "The biggest disappointment is the sheer lack of innovation in the game engine and graphics. Yes, the shooting mechanic is a little different, but for the most part the gameplay is the same as the last few FIFA games."
Toshiba's Dynabook 2006 FIFA World Cup laptop
So you've got your FIFA World Cup Xbox 360 and HDTV read to go but, well, you’re still just not feelin’ that World Cup fever? How ‘bout trying on a new, limited edition Toshiba Dynabook 2006 FIFA Word Cup laptop? This pup starts with a Dynabook TX base (1.6GHz Core Duo, 15.4-inch WXGA LCD, 80GB disk, 512MB RAM, and Harman & Kardon speakers), lays on a healthy slathering of gold paint inscribed with the dates and countries of previous World Cup hosts/winners, loads-up a multitude of soccertastic themes, and then slaps on a serial plate just in case your silicon slab gets mixed-in with one of the other 600 units produced. Now the ol' mercury's rising, eh? Ok, maybe not. Still, they'll be shipping May 26 for right around $1700 -- just in time for some hard posing at the pub or heaving onto the pitch should the “Hand-of-God” make its return. [Thanks, Roygbiv]
Adidas sponsoring free week of XBL Gold
Xboxyde has early word that shoe maker Adidas will sponsor a full week of free Xbox Live Gold May 8 -15. The promotion is called the "Xbox Live Football Free-For-All" and is designed to give Silver members a chance to show their online skills at FIFA World Cup 2006 leading up to the Xbox Cup this summer in Germany. There's also going to be a bunch of free XBLM content, which should be pretty good considering it's during E3. More details should follow when the event is officially unveiled tomorrow. Topping Verizon's free XBL Gold weekend by five Midas-touched days is sure to generate good will among soccer fans and non-soccer fans alike. How about slapping a few more shoe ads up there and making online gaming free permanently? [Thanks Tomcats]
HDTV Broadcast preparations for 2006 FIFA World Cup
After a harsh lesson learned during the Winter Olympics, we now know that the quality of our international HDTV viewing is almost totally in the hands of the host broadcaster. In the case of the upcoming World Cup action in Germany, those appear to be very very good hands.Check out Host Broadcast Services official website for more details on how they plan to showcase high definition this summer (whether or not people in Europe have HDTVs to watch it on), Also be sure to take a look at thier Widescreen HDTV FAQ. With a minimum of 20 high def cameras on each match producing the action in 1080i/50, we should finally have a good reason to watch the other football.
Fifa Street 2 Screenshots
Been dying to play a great sports game that doesn't star a certain portly plumber and is at least somewhat grounded in reality? Well, judging by these new screens of Fifa Street 2, it seems that you'll just have to die a little bit longer. Look, we're sure the game will at least get the basics right. You'll run around, you'll herd a ball into a goal either by kicking it around or slamming your forehead into it and you'll do ridiculous somersaults to celebrate each goal. But I'm just not digging that giant analog stick on the bottom screen. Let's hope that's not the only form of control and that the developer has come to realize (just as we have) that one needs to use that touch screen in more creative ways than simply treating it as a big, flat analog stick.[Via GamersReports]
