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GamerVerdict's Looking Forward To January 2011

January 6th 2011 04:41
Happy New Years! And the gaming season starts late into January for us Aussies. There isn't an anticipated original title this month, but playing the familiar is never a bad thing. Not for anticipated sequel to one of EA's biggest series in the past couple of years.

But before I write about the upcoming adventures in the further reaches of space. Superheroes from DC are trying to save our world by giving everyone super powers.



DC Universe Online
PS3, PC - 20th of Jan 2011

This isn't the first time gamers get to play super heroes and super villains online. Champions Online (2009) and City of Heroes/Villains (2004) were already out satisfyingly the fan base. But recognition as one of the most prolific Superhero brands in the world is what DC Universe Online (DUO) brings to the table. Think DUO as FIFA and City of Heroes/Villains as Pro Evolution Soccer. The latter title can let you create Superman, but he can never legally be called Superman or have his logo slapped to his chest. DUO has Superman and you get to fight with him. But does big names like Batman and Wonder Woman equate to an instant hit?

I've heard rather mixed responses about the Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) on several podcasts like Giant Bomb and the Geekbox.The short time it takes to beat the main quest and how similar top-end players skill sets will be despite their unique powers. But like most MMORPGs, these gripes can be fixed by persistent updates to the game in the upcoming years. Just look at World of WarCraft (WoW): it looks and plays differently to when it was first released. If Blizzard can lear and mould WoW to the game it is today, so can Sony Online Entertainment (SOE). So there is hope this can still be the superhero MMO every comic book and gaming fan wants it to be.


DCU isn't the first MMORPG SOE developed. They also built highly acclaimed EverQuest in 1999 and EverQuest 2 in 2004, with both still going strong. And at one time the games were referred to as "NeverRest" and "EverCrack". SOE also lovingly taken care of MMORPG's untill they went off-line. Like Matrix Online's "Wake Up" message before all servers where turned off.


Mass Effect 2
PS3 - 20th of Jan 2011

This title has several PS3 and 360 comparison videos up and a demo available on PSN. Yet none would really matter because the 360 and PC versions of the game is out for nearly a year. I'm afraid the fate of this version of a AAA title may be similar to the PS3 BioShock port: released at a time most gamers had enough time to play a different version, thus barely making a ripple on anyone's radar and quickly dumped into the bargain bin.

Its saving grace is the plethora of bonus content: Project Overlord, Kasumi: Stolen Memory and the acclaimed Lair of the Shadow Broker quests are included. On top of that is access code to the Cerberus Network with even more DLC content, like extra character Zaeed. Then there is the interactive comic where decisions can be made. I'll bet what type of Shepard you want to be: Renegade or Paragon, who you want to survive at Virmire and if the Council survives.

The amount of bonus content is impressive, but an interactive comic would never replace the journey I had when playing through the first game and carrying over the save. Yet it would be ideal for new players who do not want to sink in 30 hours into the last game and just go straight to the sequel. Or if you don't have a PC rig and a 360, this version will satisfy any space cravings you have...

Unless if your looking forward to Dead Space 2.


Dead Space 2
PS3, 360 and PC
27th of Jan 2011

Ah Dead Space 2. The sequel to one of the best Resident Evil 4 clones in the gaming spectrum. There isn't a game out there that makes mutilating enemies so fun. With a rich back-story covered in animated movies and comic books. Dead Space 2 is one of the most anticipated sequels this year. The only thing I'm worried about is if it falls into BioShock 2 syndrome: where not enough innovation and variety deems the title as a uninspired cash-in. But if it lives up to the first game, it will definitely be a contender for 2011's Game Of The Year.

To recap we have two games set in space and one set in the superhero universe. DC Universe Online is a great set up to what will be another year of super heroes beating super villains on the cinema screen, notably the Green Lantern, the Green Hornet, Thor and Captain America. Two space games with a large fan base, one a Game of the Year edition port and the other a anticipated sequel. This month is a great way to kick 2011 off!

To infinity and Game On!
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Gamerverdict's Looking Foward to July

July 8th 2010 12:54
This month’s releases is about quality over quantity, as there aren’t many titles coming out, and two of the three games I’m about to mention happen to be by Japanese developers, but the third game more than explains why Australia is having a drought-like July... STARCRAFT 2!.... *Ahem* Now that I got that out of my system.

Let’s kick it off with a release for the DS called Dragon Ball Origins 2 on 9th of July. It is a third person, top down adventure game (think Zelda) which uses the stylus to execute most of the character’s moves. Created by Game Republic, I’ve played the first game on the DS and the developer was able to produce the MOST charming adaption of the cartoon, Dragon Ball, ever created. The touch sensitive controls are fun to pull off and there are several funny moments that mostly ended up with the 3D characters pulling the most exaggerated faces. It looks like Game Republic hasn’t messed too much with the first game’s formula, so it’s a solid bet this sequel is going to be a decent buy for fans of the series and gamers who like the adventure genre.

An interesting fact about one of the games by Game Republic, Genji: Days of the Blade, is for its infamous showing at the 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), where the producer, Bill Ritch, has made the famous “Giant Enemy Crab” statement, which has been referenced in several video games. So whenever you hear about hitting a boss’s weak point for massive damage in a video game, remember Game Republic.

Next on the block is a game any Role Playing Game (RPG) fan will be interested in:

Dragon Quest 9: Sentinels of the Starry, four years in the making and has already set a Guinness World Record. Since its release in Japan, it aggregated the most use of a wireless mode in 8 months with over 117 million players. Now it is going to be released in Australia on the 22nd of July.... UPDATE! Kotaku has posted the official Australian release date for August 19th. I guess Australian's can save up their hard-earned coin if they are inclined for the upcoming RTS giant... Anyways!

As you can tell by the number ‘9’, this RPG game is part of a series considered to be the rival of Squaresoft’s Final Fantasy series. Hand chosen by Enix, developer Level 5 has created two Dragon Quest games in the series after Enix merged with Squaresoft to create what is now known as Square Enix in 2003.

Level 5 also created the fun and challenging puzzle adventure game: Professor Layton and the Curious Village, which I believe is the best game in its genre ever made on the DS. And they also made the PS2 RPG classics; Dragon Quest 8: Journey of the Cursed King and Rogue Galaxy.

I understand if naming developers of videogames is something the average gamer doesn’t really care about, such as Game Republic, but there are a handful of developers that are as popular as their games, such as Square Enix and another title that I’m about to mention. A developer that could single handily make other publishers rethink about launching a game title in the month of July, a developer whom produced a game that all gamers and most people who haven’t touched a controller know about, and that is BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT!

Blizzard has made 3 of the most highly prolific series in the gaming spectrum: the Diablo, Warcraft and Starcraft series. They rack in money daily, thanks to their Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG): World of Warcraft, which has made the genre as popular as it is today, and produced some of the craziest, depressing and weirdest stories concerning gaming obsessions. And now their latest offering is going to debut at the end of this month.

StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty, SEVEN years in the making and was only announced in 2007, is going to be released on the 27th of July. Considered to be the best Real Time Strategy (RTS) series ever made, which led to Korean fans famously turning the first game into a televised sport. And now the advent of this game’s release will refuel the dedicated fans for another decade. I never heard of such a game with a dedicated fan base playing the original created 12 years ago. For people who aren’t living in Korea and don’t know what Starcraft is; think Warcraft in space, and replace the dwarves and orcs with aliens and emphasis on group management.

Wow! What a month! It’s kind of a blessing to have fewer releases this month, as there are so many great games already released this year and are ready to be played! Oh, and most stores in Australia have been having pretty crazy sales for the past month, so keep an eye out for your nearest retailer!

Game on.
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Looking forward to June

June 12th 2010 04:44
Undisputedly the biggest month of the year, not for sales, but for publishers and developers, as the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is looming and the public will be treated by the mass hysterial of a potential sequel to every game commercially successful in the last decade.

Meanwhile, two games set to be released near the end of the month the Gamer Verdict is looking forward to:


Transformers: War of Cybertron on 23rd of June.

Set in the robotic world of Cybertron, the game is the prequel to the Transformers cartoon. This means there will be a lot of fan service to Transformer fans, such as the large selection of Transformers, with over 25 confirmed Autobots and Decepticons in the game.

Multiplayer is also a big draw card of this game. Who wouldn’t want to be StarScream where you can transform into a jet and fly away when things get messy?

While I’m on the topic of Transformers, the developer of the video game for the Transformers Movie, Travellers Tales, will be releasing their latest Lego game: Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4, which is set for a 30th of June release.


I must admit Travellers Tales is another developer part of the heap of other developers whom contributed to bad movie licensing products, and also marked the downfall of the Crash Bandicoot series with the awful Wrath of Cortex on the PS2.

Then Travellers Tales turned the tide of their bad luck by transforming movie licenses to Lego. The Star Wars series, Indiana Jones, Batman, and even Rock Band, have felt turned into decent games. So there is really no room for too much error from Travellers tales with this new entry into the Lego-based games.
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Looking forward in May

May 10th 2010 12:12
Thinking what are the upcoming games worth looking into this month? Here is a list a gamer is looking forward to in May.

13/05/10



3D Dot Game Heroes for PS3 (PG) – Love Zelda? Don’t have or refuse to own a Wii? Craving for a game that satisfies the hunger for your love of old video games that are on consoles most likely not available in the country? This game has been loved by critics as the “swan song” of the old hack and slash genre, especially the style, game play and story from the first Zelda game released in 1986. Custom create your own main hero and their animations are one of its defining features. Bothered to make your own 8-bit Link? Go right ahead! Ever want to create a robot with large arms and no legs? Sure! Samus? I’d like to see you try!

20/05/10



Alan Wake for 360 – promised to have a strong Psychological thriller/horror storyline. You get to play as a writer who finds manuscripts he has written, come to life. A third-person action game with enemies that can only be beaten with the aid of light, it promises to be one of the biggest 360 exclusive game of this year.



No More Heroes 2 (probably MA) – Sequel to one of the most violent and cartoonish third person videogames on the Wii, definitely not for kids. With your twin beam katana’s, you play as Travis Touchdown assassinating his way through unique, in personality and weaponry, assassins to become the number 1 ranked assassin in the games fictional tale.



Split Second – From the creators of off-road quad bike game, Pure, the E3 trailer to this racing game plays out with sports cars blazing through the track similar to the awesome Burnout series. Its defining feature is how the environments drastically change the conditions of the race: think of a building falling onto the track as you desperately try to swerve out of the way.

21/05/2010



Red Dead Redemption (MA) – the critics are raving about this game as “Grand Theft Auto in the Wild West”. Are you feeling lucky? And inclined to sandbox games: then this game is worth considering.

27/05/10



UFC Undisputed 2010 – If you love watching legitimate man-on-man beat downs and arm dislocating submissions, then this game gives you the chance to understand the ins and outs of the Mix Martial Arts world. And you get to play/beat up Brock Lesner.


*All screen shots of products belong to their respective developers and publishers.
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How Can One Tell Which Identical Twin May Have Committed A Crime? ==

April 27th 2010 13:26
== Identifying Identical Twins' DNA...How Can One Tell Which Identical Twin May Have Committed A Crime? ==



:[[Identical twins]] have the same genetic material, as the article explains.

:How about good old fashioned [[fingerprint]]s? You might get lucky and find a SNP ([[Single nucleotide polymorphism]]) that is different between the twins but [[DNA fingerprinting]] would be useless with the current genetic markers

::They come from the same egg and sperm so there will not be SNPs between them. Now let me qualify that by saying that if spontanious mutation did arise during the development of one of them, it would not be in all their cells, only the cells that are descendant of that cell. You cannot tell them apart by genetic means. How can you tell which one committed a crime? It could be very tricky indeed. Even with other evidence like alibis, a defense lawyer could definately put together a case where you couldn't tell which twin was which. Tattoos, scars etc would be very useful. I'm sure there are some interesting case studies out there... Another interesting point - total bone marrow transplants (eg. for leukaemia) mean that the patient's blood has the same DNA as the donor. But there would likely be other markers in the blood - antirejection drugs maybe? [[User:Aaadddaaammm|Aaadddaaammm]] 22:58, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

:::"Somatic mosaicism" for SNP's is not uncommon but finding one that occured early enough in development would be very difficult (if not impossible). Hence my disclaimer, you might get lucky. The important observation is that it is wrong to assume that identical twins have identical DNA.
:ome genes undergo [[somatic hypermutation]] and [[V(D)J recombination|other types of modifications]] that make the DNA sequences in some somatic cells of each individual unique. Also, DNA modifications such as [[DNA methylation]] can be different between [[monozygotic twins==
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QUANTUM MECHANICS REPLACES MODERN COMPUTERS

April 27th 2010 12:44
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APPLICATIONS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY

April 27th 2010 12:06
APPLICATIONS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY

Over the past few decades, the fields of [[science]] and [[engineering]] have been seeking to develop new and improved types of [[energy]] technologies that have the capability of improving life all over the world. In order to make the next leap forward from the current generation of [[technology]], scientists and engineers have been developing '''Energy Applications of Nanotechnology'''. [[Nanotechnology]], a new field in science, is any technology that contains components smaller than 100 [[nanometer]]s. For scale, a single [[virus]] particle is about 100 nanometers in width


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Games for Smartphone

December 8th 2009 23:00
If you're looking for a really good place for cheap games for your smartphone, you'll definitely find what you're looking for at Handago. They offer games for Blackberry, Android Games, and so many other games for your cell phone.

The best and top sellers are those classic games like Pac Man, Digger, and the race car games. They are basic but definitely classics


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Posted By: Whitney - Category: Puzzle
   


Tony Hawk: Ride Video Game Bundle

December 8th 2009 14:28


The Tony Hawk Ride game has four different modes that include a Challenge mode, Speed, Trick, and Free Skate mode. You can skate all over the world in all sorts of situations and places. You can try various tricks, verts, and speed challenges amongst various levels. You may even grow so talented that you can beat even your most experienced skateboarding friend


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Wii Sports Resort

November 30th 2009 13:42
With more sports games, Nintendo wants you to get active. The Sports Resort lets you take part in many water games, sky diving, sword play, and multi-player games. You can play by yourself, against the computer, or with up to 4 other people.

The cool thing is that instead of having to buy the Wii MotionPlus separate, you get one when you buy this game. It makes gaming more precise and entertaining. You'll find that there have been mixed reviews about the accessory, but for the most part, it seems people do like it


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Posted By: Whitney - Category: Sports, Nintendo Wii
   


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