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Posts Tagged ‘Shooter’

PlayStation Move first hands-on (update: video!)

At last, we’ve felt Sony’s long awaited motion controller, now at last officially known as “PlayStation Move,” in our unworthy, sweaty hands. We have a bunch of videos on the way, but for now you can revel in our first close-ups of the controllers in the gallery below. Here are some of our initial thoughts:

• The controllers are light. Much more akin to the DualShock3 than the Wiimote in heft, and we’re guessing that’s due to Sony’s continued love of rechargeable batteries.
• The main controller does have some subtle vibration (not DualShock or Wiimote level, but present), but we’re not sure yet about the subcontroller.
• We hate to say this about “pre-alpha” software, but we’re feeling lag. An on-rails shooter we tried out, dubbed The Shoot, was discernibly inferior to shooting experiences we’ve had on the Wii, both in precision and refresh rate of the aiming cursor.
• The gladiator game is about as fun as it looks, we’ll have video after the break momentarily. Unfortunately, while it’s less of a defined experience than something like the sword game on Wii Sports Resort, you’re still working through a library of sensed, pre-defined actions instead of a true 1:1 fighting game with simulated physics. Not that it isn’t possible with PlayStation Move, just that it’s not this.
• The lightness of the controllers means we might be feeling less of that Wiimote fatigue, always a good thing! There’s an aspect of the controller that feels a little cheap, but at the same time we wouldn’t call it fragile.
• As far as we can tell, the control scheme for Socom 4 is quite similar to dual-controller shooter setups on the Wii, with the camera moving based on your aiming cursor hitting the edge. It’s hard to see this as the preferred hardcore setup, but we’re told it’s configurable, so we’ll try and see what else is on offer.
• The system seemed to have a bit of trouble understanding the configuration of our body in a swordfighting stance: even though we selected “left handed,” it was putting our sword arm forward instead of our shield. Right-handers didn’t seem to have similar problems, and we’re sure this will be ironed out in time, but it certainly shows that the controllers aren’t magical in their space-detection prowess.
• As would be expected, you’re supposed to stand relatively center on the TV, and at a certain optimal distance. The system is forgiving, but there’s a sweet spot that users will undoubtedly have to learn.

Update: We’ve got our first video up after the break. 23 seconds of unadulterated action! Not to be missed, folks.

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PlayStation Move first hands-on (update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pentax makes all-weather Optio W90 and superzoom X90 official

Pentax is going for broke with its take on the rugged camera, the W90, which is unlikely to ever be confused for a svelte and stylish point-and-shoot. What it loses in looks, it gains in usability, however, as the 12.1 megapixel shooter can withstand shocks from a height of four feet, go nearly 20 feet under water, and withstand temperatures as slow as -10 degrees Celsius. The dustproofing is just topping on that rugged cake, though it still offers things like 720p / 30fps video recording and 5x optical zoom that are now considered standard camera specs. There are also three forms of shake reduction: one is post-processing of affected images, the second is by automatically increasing the ISO in low light conditions, and the third is the use of “exclusive software” during movie mode. We can’t say any one of those will be as good as a well-implemented optical image stabilization, but at least they’re there and might offer some assistance. As to the X90, it joins a growing band of 26x and above optical superzoomers, while adding the W90’s 720p video mode and image stabilizers while throwing in its own sensor-shift stabilizer in for good measure. Both shooters are expected in April, priced at $330 for the W90 and $400 for X90, though we’ve noticed the former will show up a month earlier in the UK with a £270 ($417) price tag.

Pentax makes all-weather Optio W90 and superzoom X90 official originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pentax trots out gorgeous K-7 Limited Silver DSLR

Do Japanese gadget makers think we’re not superficial enough to appreciate specially repainted editions of their gear? Because we are, we totally are. Pentax is producing a mere 1,000 units of the above slice of DSLR beauty and predictably they all seem to be headed to the Japanese market. The Limited Silver variant of the K-7 adds a few enhancements, too, with a specially reinforced glass plate protecting the LCD and adding to the original’s robust weatherproofing, as well as updated firmware and photo processing software. The most intriguing addition is the inclusion of a “golden section ratio” focusing screen with curved guiding lines that are supposed to make image composition even easier. We’d say that’s just the sort of cosmetic enhancement you’d expect on a prettied up limited edition shooter, but that’d make our bitterness at not being able to buy one too obvious.

Pentax trots out gorgeous K-7 Limited Silver DSLR originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DIY photog creates laser trigger for remote DSLR snapping

There’s just no two ways about it: the integrated self-timer is easily one of the most amazing technologies to ever be invented. Yeah, we said it. Unfortunately, beeping for ten seconds while a shooter races to get in position isn’t always ideal or fun, and that’s where isharq comes in. His Arduino-based mod is amongst the most flexible out there for DSLRs, enabling it to morph from a basic laser trigger hack to something that senses heat, movement or sound (just to name a few) and then makes your camera react accordingly. As it stands, his setup triggers his DSLR to snap a shot whenever a laser beam is broken, and if you’re eager to see more, be sure to peek the in-action video just past the break. Oh, and the source link holds all the secrets to recreating something like this in your own laboratory.

[Thanks, Simon]

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DIY photog creates laser trigger for remote DSLR snapping originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Week in gaming: 20 games we want, Heavy Rain, MAG review

Did you know that the only game that’s acceptable to be looking forward to is Halo: Reach? We didn’t! Our list of 20 games we wanted to play in 2010 garnered a ton of readers, and a ton of controversy. StarCraft 2 didn’t make the list? We’re skeptical about a 2010 release date. Halo: Reach not our most anticipated game? It’s more Halo. If we left out your favorite game, it’s not too late to register your indignation.

We also took a look at Sony’s massive shooter MAG, which seems to have caught a good amount of our community in its grasp. We look at the challenges Heavy Rain faces… and why they’re all good problems to have in terms of quality. We also take Razer’s newest mouse for a test drive. This is the week in gaming.

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Teased Olympus Micro Four Thirds camera leaked?

One of the more exciting camera technologies to emerge in the last 18 months is undoubtedly the Olympus and Panasonic Micro Four Thirds format. Amazing little cameras that pack DSLR-quality sensors into relatively compact shooters by ditching the mirror box. So bear with us as we ogle the latest Olympus leak said to be that Micro Four Thirds shooter teased only last week. The image shows a 14-42mm lens with rumors saying it’ll be cheaper (hooray!) than the E-P1 in part due to a plastic body (eww).

Teased Olympus Micro Four Thirds camera leaked? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leica M9 taking pre-orders for its body only

Got nearly $7,000 in spare change and a lust for magnesium-bodied digital rangefinder cameras? Then we’ve got the solution to your itch, dear friend, as Leica has just let the M9 out to dance with credit cards in the courting ritual colloquially known as a pre-order. Claimed as the world’s smallest full frame digital shooter, the latest Leica sports an 18 megapixel sensor, a new cover glass that eliminates the need for IR filters, dual image processors, and a 2.5-inch LCD. You’ll have to be really sure this shooter is for you, though, because the quoted price is for the body only, and the lenses won’t come cheap either. Still, this is the Leica stuff we care to see — not some silly 24 carat-skinned Limited Edition homage to the unholy.

Leica M9 taking pre-orders for its body only originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 02:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leave Home a coming of age… shooter?

We stumbled upon Leave Home on the Xbox Live Indie Gaming Channel after hearing about it via word of mouth, and we dropped the $3 for the game. And… well, we fell in love. You can play a session in a few minutes, but the game changes depending on how well or poorly you do, adopting a modular design to keep you guessing about what may be coming up next.

“It took about 12 months to make,” Matt James, the game’s creator, told Ars. “The ideas came from growing up in Cornwall, leaving home—it’s a pretty personal game to me. I thought it’d be interesting to translate a coming of age story, bildungsroman-type thing onto a scrolling shooter.” 

The game is getting buzz on the proverbial street, which makes James happy. This is a man who would rather be making games than talking to people like me. “Problem with doing indie stuff like this is you have to do your own promo. I suppose if I sold out to some d***head publisher I could get away with not doing it,” he said. I’m just happy not to be playing another dual-analog shooter: you can spin your weapons and aim behind you in Leave Home. We asked James about that design decision. Was it his intention to move away from how most downloadable shooters operate?

“The rotating fire was only added once the whole game had been mostly coded up with basic graphics. I liked it in Axelay and had put it in a vertical shooter I’d not
finished, so [I] stuck it into Leave Home and it seemed to work,” he explained. “I liked the idea of making a horizontal shooter that had the twitch moment-to-moment reaction elements of twin-stick arena games like Robotron, rather than just rote memorization, but keep that progression/story feeling you get in something like R-type.”

Matt James just wants to make games he wants to play, and stresses that no one is getting rich from independent gaming on the Xbox 360. “I don’t really think about players of my games, I make them for myself.” The inspiration for the changing and shifting level design came from watching a band screw around on stage. “I thought it’d be pretty cool if the game could just change immediately; I would like to make games that have the freedom music has rather than being genre-locked because the ‘players don’t want x in y type games.’”

If you have a few bucks to spare and are in the mood for something different, give Leave Home a buy, and you can pick up the soundtrack at the official site. As for James, we promise to leave him alone until the next game.

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