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Serve in the military and get a discount on Fallen Earth
It's a hard time to be serving in the military, even if you're not stationed overseas at the moment. After all, the armed forces don't always get the luxury of having Christmas off. So it's nice to know that the gamers among the armed forces get a little bit extra if they're inspired to pick up Fallen Earth. The company has just announced that the military will receive a 20% discount on the price of the game, plus a free t-shirt with their purchase. And not one of the in-game items the game has been fond of giving out lately -- a real one. The offer is open to members in any one of the US armed branches -- the Coast Guard, Marines, Army, Air Force, or Navy are all eligible. All that's required is a .mil e-mail address to verify that the person ordering is in the military. The one catch is that it's only applied to orders through the official Fallen Earth store, so Steam and similar venues aren't available. But it's an excellent way of compensating the men and women serving their country, so if you are eligible and haven't grabbed the game yet, head on over to pick yourself up a copy.
Sony PSPs enlisted as study aids by the Royal Navy
Whoever it was at Sony HQ that decided to pursue "military contracts" as a revenue source, kudos! Mere days after the US Air Force expressed interest in expanding its PS3 supercomputer, we're hearing glorious Britannia's Royal Navy has conscripted 230 PSPs into duty as revision aids for its trainee sailors. Loaded with maths and physics materials, the PSPs can be used in a bunk, have familiar controls for the young and mostly male recruits, and are considered pretty tough to break. The underlying reason for this move though is cost cutting: by making the training course more intensive, the Navy is saving on teaching time. Given that the UMD drive won't come disabled -- which is hoped to encourage the sailors to take better care of the device -- the future this paints is of marines who've spent more time with a freebie handheld console than with a pro instructor. At least they'll have a great stable of captured monsters to show for it. [Thanks, pankomputerek]
Aliens vs. Predator 'Marines' trailer highlights the plight of puny humans
Sega's Aliens vs. Predator recently received a new trailer, titled "Marines" -- seriously, are they trying to make us confuse this game with Aliens: Colonial Marines? It's bad enough that there's like, seven Aliens games being developed right now. You don't need to make this any harder on us, guy-in-charge-of-naming-trailers.However, the moniker does fit -- the video above tells the terrifying story of the unsung third party in the AvP conflict: Humans. Traditionally, most shooters let their human protagonists mow down waves of extraterrestrials with little trouble -- however, said extraterrestrials usually don't have acid spit. Nor can they turn invisible. Nor do they have giant arm swords. Nor do they make alien babies in our chests. Hey, we had a good run, humanity. Looks like it's time to pack it in.
Apple's iPod touch tackling "networked warfare" for US military
While the British military has had a love-hate relationship with Apple's darling, the US armed forces are reportedly warming up quite well to the iPod touch. A fresh Newsweek report asserts that the touch is increasingly replacing far more expensive dedicated devices in the field, noting that it is being used to spearhead the future of "networked warfare." Equipped with a rugged shell and software developed by language translation firms (among others), the device is being used to aid communications and acquire information from databases. In fact, the US Department of Defense is "developing military software for iPods that enables soldiers to display aerial video from drones and have teleconferences with intelligence agents halfway across the globe," and snipers are already utilizing a ballistics calculator to add precision to shots. And hey, it's not like easy access to Tap Tap Revenge is really bad for morale, either.[Via CNET]
The Queue: Stripes edition
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Adam Holisky will be your host today.Today in The Queue we're going to spend the entire time answering a question we got from a U.S. Marine currently deployed in Iraq. And while the above YouTube clip has very little (or nothing) to do with the Marines or Iraq, I think that everyone can use a little more Bill Murray in their life.Thalimor asked..."I currently am a Marine deployed in Iraq and I was wondering how much the game will change in one year? I am worried that when I do get back, it will feel completely different. What are your thoughts?"First and foremost, thanks for your service. I hope that things are as safe as possible for you and your fellow servicemen and servicewomen.I'm going to answer your question in two parts. First, what has happened to WoW in the past year. And second, what will probably happen to WoW in the following year. That should cover the entire timeframe for yourself and others in your situation.
GamesforHeroes.com seeks handheld games and systems for troops
OK, we've said it before, but other than the constant threat of dying, one of the things we know troops serving in Iraq or Afghanistan suffer from is boredom. So, when Peter Gallagher sent us a tip about his site GamesForHeroes.com, we felt the least we could do was give it some attention. The Games for Heroes charity, which has a registered donor number with nonprofit MarineParents.com, is simply looking to collect handheld games and systems (Game Boy, DS, PSP), which will be sent to troops serving in a place of war. Information on where to send items or make cash donations can be found on the site. A similar charity called "Fun for our Troops" began last year, but without the portable gaming focus.
Rockwell Collins to outfit Marines with head-mounted ParaNav units
It looks like the US Marines will soon be adding yet another bit of gear to their already well-equipped high-tech arsenal, with Rockwell Collins announcing that it's set to provide 'em with 3,000 of its head-mounted ParaNav GPS units, which will be used to give parachutists a bit of guidance assistance. As you can see at the right, the system makes use of a heads-up display for maximum convenience and added sci-fi effect, which is apparently full-color and able to attach directly to parachutist's goggle's or helmet shield. As if that wasn't enough, the rig also sports built-in WiFi to stay connected with the so-called Joint Precision Airdrop System, and it includes some custom circuitry to allow for "dead reckoning calculations" in the event the GPS decides not to cooperate. No PMP functions though, it seems -- or at least none that they're telling us about.[Thanks, SK]
How would a Starcraft MMO work?
Speculation over Blizzard's upcoming MMO continues unabated, even with the lack of anything new to feed upon. The biggest hope, I dare to say, is that it's going to be Starcraft that gets the treatment, even if it's still a long way away from release. Starcraft holds fast in many gamers' hearts, including mine, so it's only natural to want more. But when actually considering the possibility, how would it play out?Our Krystalle has already given this a glance over on WoW Insider, and our recent Ask Massively asked a similar question, but I'd like to take it deeper. Let's take World of Warcraft as a point of comparison and see if we can run down this mythical beast.
Serious Games Summit: A military takeover of serious games
Things have come a long way since the U.S. Armed Forces got into the video game business with Marine Doom in the early '90s. Just ask Roger Smith, an analyst who presented on the past, present and future of military involvement in games at the Serious Games Summit. In the dozen or so years since their shallow, graphical Doom II mod, Smith said the military has integrated full-fledged training simulations for all sorts of different positions and situations. Right now most of that training goes to the "trigger pullers" -- the people risking their lives on the front lines -- but Smith said lower-cost technology solutions would allow for simulations geared towards medical, logistical, maintenance, and other troops who currently don't have many other training options.While recent military sims like America's Army and Full Spectrum Warrior have crossed over into the commercial market, Smith said he sees this trend slowing in the future, with the military developing narrowly targeted simulations suited specifically for military use, not living room use. As this trend continues, Smith sees the military developing internal game development resources to create its games, rather than buying off-the-shelf parts and talent from outside game companies.Smith also talked excitedly about the military's interest in developing for the Xbox 360 through the XNA program. While there were too many roadblocks to developing military trainers for the original Xbox, Smith said a simulation designed for powerful, affordable hardware like the 360 had the potential to open up training to every soldier, rather than just those in units with access to expensive, high-end PCs.Also see: Serious Games Summit: Defense dept. games
