Cyan Worlds has reportedly ported their mega-classic mind bender, Myst, to the iPhone. As a long time Myst fan, this is definitely great news. I’m also impressed to see that they pared the thing down to 700mb. That seems like a lot, but Myst felt huge, and running it on new hardware has got to take some serious space.
As for gameplay, the experience should be fairly flawless. Cyan reworked the controls for a simple touch navigation. They’ve also added auto-saves, bookmarking, and quick access to the game’s hint guide.
This spring’s console sales decline has plenty of people (including myself) wondering when the next generation is coming. According to Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter, we’re going to be waiting a while. Pachter thinks we won’t see new hardware until 2013 at the earliest, citing profit margins that have yet to catch up to manufacturer’s expectations.
The good news is extended console life-cycles mean more time for developers to learn each generation’s ticks and tricks. The bad news? Developers are left guessing just as much as we are. Ubisoft’s CEO is recommending everyone start beefing up, investing in new blood and new toys to handle the next generation now. Nothing pays like preparation, but four years of it? Four years that could be spent making new games? Better games?
This is the paradox that makes me rub my temples. I still think games could be better, and much better. They could certainly look better, which means better hardware, or possibly more intelligent use of the current hardware. Of course, games could also play better, have more intuitive control schemes, more immersive gameplay, which means more time for developers to learn the hardware and adapt to its possibilities/limitations.
The AMD Black Edition CPUs have long been the choice of the budget conscious gamer. Historically they’ve offered a decent processor with some overclocking potential just a bit under Intel prices. Today the struggling CPU manufacturer let loose the AMD X2 7850 Black Edition, a rock solid processor that slides well under the competition at just $69.
Early reports suggest the chip is a good buy. Overclocking is a little tough, but it is possible to push the 7850 up to 1.5x normal operating standards. The processor should make it even easier to build that sub-$500 Crysis machine.
I’ve been looking for an excuse to write about the crazy things people do with a Wiimote for a while now and a recent Ubergizmo post finally tipped the scales. Ubergizmo reports that a team of scientists are working to make the Wiimote usable for radiologists, allowing doctors to flip through patient files and images with gestures instead of the tried-and-sometimes-limiting keyboard and mouse. Personally, I imagine it to be something like the computer from Minority Report, wherein Tom Cruise sends images and video clips flying off screen, pulling others in to be resized, viewed from alternate angles, and relit to solve futuristic crimes.
All of that for $30? With a little programming knowledge, yes. The Wiimote IR camera is remarkably advanced, despite its low cost. Researcher Johnny Chung Lee (pictured in the video below) has devoted loads of time and research into getting the most out of Nintendo’s controller, and he’s made his discoveries public. Armed with a Wiimote and a few infrared dots, Lee has created a digital whiteboard, a multi-point touchscreen, and even a 3D environment capable of sensing a user’s movements and adjusting accordingly.
With researchers like Lee, Wiimote hacks are becoming increasingly complex and remaining completely free, allowing users and researchers to build off the wacky things accomplished with incredibly low-cost hardware. To see Lee’s work in action, check out the video below. The clip comes from TED, a website you should absolutely be watching.
I’ve never been big on fishing games, but maybe that’s because they never feel authentic. The fish don’t hit quite right. There’s no sense of cast. The best lures are things I’d never pick (of course that holds true to live fishing at times).
Griffin International’s “The Strike” aims to change all that by adding this swanky little fishing rod peripheral. As far as additional controllers go, this is one of the best looking pieces I’ve seen. The controller+game bundle will only run you $69.99, a remarkably decent price considering the cost of other powered periphs on the market.
The game will also be released for PC and Wii later this year.
Cyan Worlds has reportedly ported their mega-classic mind bender, Myst, to the iPhone. As a long time Myst fan, this is definitely great news. I’m also impressed to see that they pared the thing down to 700mb. That seems like a lot, but Myst felt huge, and running it on new hardware has got to take some serious space.
