Blah, Blah, Blahg

Another free security inspector for your Windows system. From security experts Secunia (via Freeware wiki)

Technorati Tags: Write for free help

Watch a Wii vs PS3 commercial mock-up

End of the year review time, hot shot. Here are a number of sites giving out their top XX games of 2006 virtual awards and a sampling of their awards. Check some out and see with which you agree.

Next Generation:

• 49. Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords (PC)
• 34. Microsoft Flight Simulator X (PC)
• 23. LocoRoco (PSP)
• 4. Guitar Hero II (PS2)

Maxim Magazine:

• 2. Sci-Fi Blockheads!
  LEGO STAR WARS II
  PS2, Xb, GC, PC, PSP, DS
• 5. Spandex Gaming!
  GUITAR HERO
  PS2
• 10. Mammoth RPGing!
  THE ELDER SCROLLS IV: OBLIVION
  X360, PC

Some random guy on Amazon.com:

1. Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Collector’s Edition (DVD-ROM) by 2K Games

10. Black by Electronic Arts (Whaaaaa? Note: Does not match up with the view of most of the rest of the gaming community)

16. Guitar Hero 1 Bundle (with Guitar) by REDOCTANE

CBS News on top portable games:

• “Power Stone Collection” is a collection of two older Sega Dreamcast games merged into one. It’s a solid and slick fighter that is every bit as fast and fun as it originally was. Retail price $30. (PSP)
• If puzzle games are your thing, or you enjoy music/rhythm based games, “Lumines 2″ will easily fit the bill with more music options and a great price. Retail price $30. (PSP)
• Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin” will utilize WiFi capability to play cooperative in certain modes, so you don’t have to go demon slaying alone. Retail price $35. (DS)
• “Elite Beat Agents” is a quirky “touch the screen to the music” game that had me laughing within minutes of playing it! Music and rhythm game fans will LOVE it. Retail price $35. (DS – I just got this game, and it’s addictive)

There are plenty more such lists out there if you take the time to look.  It’s interesting to see how much overlap there is and how many unique entries there are per list.  You’ll see Oblivion and the various Guitar Hero incarnations on most lists, I think, but otherwise it is all up in the air.

Technorati Tags: Top games of 2006

I love pointing out the failures of others.  So when I see a site like Next Generation cover the gaming industry’s top 10 blunders of 2006, I have to pass that on.

5. Gizmondo Crashes, Exec Follows Suit

In January the underdog handheld company Gizmondo imploded and threw itself at the mercy of its creditors. At the time no one suspected that the most fascinating part of the Gizmondo story was still to come. In February Stefan Eriksson, former executive at Gizmondo, taught his Ferrari Enzo how to fly on a stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway, slicing the million-dollar car neatly in half, and creating the world’s first performance art re-enactment of the rise and fall of a videogame company.

Of course, it wasn’t really Eriksson’s fault. As he told it, a mysterious German named Dietrich was driving the doomed sportscar when it crashed. Eriksson was just innocently sitting in the passenger seat of a flying Ferrari when it collided with a pole and blood flew off his lip and onto the driver-side airbag. Happens all the time, really.

That’s my favorite.  In fact, the others aren’t even that interesting.  But hey, faults is faults, and I’m all about them’s getting the faultification highlightingism they deservify.

Technorati Tags: Gaming Industry’s biggest blunders 2006

With the recent blue diode laser production news, I guess people will want to learn a little about laser technology for smartiness points

Just for the CoH/CoV folks, here’s an animated emote guide