Prince of Persia : The Forgotten Sands - 18 HQ Wallpaper

Prince of Persia : The Forgotten Sands - 18 HQ Wallpaper

sample


Download Link: http://www.mediafire.com/?an5ozh40nk4

You can find Nokia N8, N97 X6 5800 5530 5235 5233 5230 High Quality Wallpapers.

For Dual Screen hq Wallpapersc Click "Here" and more HQ HD Wallpapers "Here".

Assassin’s Creed II : 19 HQ Wallpapers

Assassin’s Creed II : 19 HQ Wallpapers

sample

Download Link: http://www.mediafire.com/?2rqxm2ntdbw

You can find Nokia N8, N97 X6 5800 5530 5235 5233 5230 High Quality Wallpapers.

For Dual Screen hq Wallpapersc Click "Here" and more HQ HD Wallpapers "Here".

Following a successful run with the codenamed R700 family of GPUs, which was originally released back in June 2008 as the Radeon HD 4000 series, AMD is launching the highly anticipated R800. Debuting to no one's surprise as the ATI Radeon HD 5000 series, on our test bed today we have a reference HD 5870 graphics card packing some 2150 million transistors and produced on a 40nm process.

The new Radeon HD 5000 series is said to deliver around 2x more performance than previous generation Radeon cards, and brings DirectX 11 support to desktops for the first time. Even while Nvidia is downplaying the latter, AMD sees it as a great advantage and expects DX11-capable games to start shipping before the end of the year.

Nvidia will also support DirectX 11 on future hardware of course, but the way things are going it looks as though we'll still have to wait a few months before their response to the new Radeon HD line arrives.

AMD's pricing strategy with the Radeon HD 5000 series will be quite interesting too, as for the first time in a long while the company will be looking to take the performance crown from Nvidia. Previous generation ATI graphics cards have been unable to compete with the fastest Nvidia solutions, forcing AMD to heavily discount their products in an effort to deliver better value.

In the end the Radeon HD 4850 was competing with the much older GeForce 9800 GTX, while the Radeon HD 4870 ran somewhat unopposed at $299. At this price point the 4870 delivered an impressive level of performance, though it was overshadowed by improved GeForce GTX graphics cards over the next 12 months.

The new Radeon HD 5870 is in a very different position, though. This time around it looks like AMD is not going to be forced into a pricing war as easily -- at least not yet anyway. So for now the HD 5870 makes its debut with an MSRP of $380, while the Radeon HD 5850 is also arriving today priced at around $260.

This makes the Radeon HD 5870 roughly $120 cheaper than today's undisputable performance champ, the GeForce GTX 295. It also makes it almost twice as costly as the Radeon HD 4890, however, which begs the question: is the Radeon HD 5870 really that much faster? Today we finally get to find out, as we will be comparing AMD's latest and greatest against every single high-end graphics card released over the past year. (Full Story Link)

Sony Launches Slim PS3 @ 299$

The rumors, as they usually are, were true: Sony formally announced a $299 slim PlayStation 3 on Tuesday. But while the slim PS3 will carry a larger hard drive than the current model, it will be priced identically to the current PlayStation, which contains a hard drive with less capacity.

The new charcoal black PlayStation 3 (CECH-2000A) will include a 120-Gbyte hard drive and will be priced at $299. It will be released worldwide on Sept. 1, save for Japan, which will receive it two days later. In Europe, it will be priced at 299 euros, and in Japan at 29,280 yen.

But Sony will also lower the price of the current PlayStation 3 to $299 as well. The problem is that the current PS3 carries just 80 Gbytes of storage, meaning that Sony will apparently push customers to the new model through the additional storage capacity, not by price.

The new PlayStation 3 was revealed via ads from Kmart and Sears earlier Tuesday.

While the new slim PS3 will maintain the same curved look as its predecessor, the new version contains a reworked internal design that has cut the PS3's thickness and weight by two thirds. It will measure 290 mm by 65 mm by 290 mm and weigh 3.2 kilograms, Sony said. The unit's power consumption has been cut by the same amount, to 250 watts, which should help cut fan noise, Sony said.

Sony also plans to introduce a new PS3 logo, also changing the formal name of the device from the PLAYSTATION 3 to "PlayStation 3".

On Sept. 1, the PlayStation 3 system software will be upgraded to version 3.0, adding a new "What's New" screen that provide shortcuts to new content. A "Bravia Sync" feature will also allow the game console's media playback features to be controlled by Sony Bravia TVs. Finally, Sony removed the "install other OS" feature from the options menu, essentially making the PS3 a closed system.  A stand will also be sold for $24, allowing users to align the PS3 on its vertical axis, Sony said. (story Link)

NFS Undercover : Cheatcode

Cheat mode
Enter the options menu, choose the "Secret Codes" selection, then enter one of the following codes to activate the corresponding cheat function. Note: The codes will only work once per profile. The bonus cars are only available in Quick Race mode.
$10,000
Enter $EDSOC (contains the letter "O") or %%$3/" as a code.
$15,000
Enter S1D3K1CK as a code.
Die-Cast Audi R8 car
Enter "9:G3IF or "9;&4)% as a code to unlock the Die-Cast Audi R8 car.
Die-Cast BMW M3 E92 car
Enter )B7@B= as a code to unlock the Die-Cast BMW M3 E92 car.
Die-Cast Chevrolet Camaro Concept car
Enter citwoxq53f, !K?MMF0, or "*@--%0 as a code to unlock the Die-Cast Chevrolet Camaro Concept car.
Die-Cast Dodge Charger
(1969) car
Enter qlcukc4bqm as a code to unlock the Die-Cast Dodge Charger (1969) car.
Die-Cast Dodge Viper SRT10 car
Enter !C6;C>E or ""6<"?$ as a code to unlock the Die-Cast Dodge Viper SRT10 car.
Die-Cast Ford Mustang GT car
Enter i3kxodepfc as a code to unlock the Die-Cast Ford Mustang GT car.
Die-Cast Lexus IS F car
Enter 0;5M2; (contains the number "0") or 0;6,2; (contains the number "0") as a code to unlock the Die-Cast Lexus IS F car.
Die-Cast Lexus IS F (alternate color) car
Enter !7I3JMI or !8(4*-( as a code to unlock the Die-Cast Lexus IS F (alternate color) car.
Die-Cast Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution car
Enter 2Die-Cast Nissan 240SX (S13) car
Enter ?P:COL (contains the letter "O") or @/;#/+ as a code to unlock the Die-Cast Nissan 240SX (S13) car.
Die-Cast Nissan GT-R (R35) Police Version car
Enter yp}jwa or "90=*6@ as a code to unlock the Die-Cast Nissan GT-R (R35) Police Version car.
Die-Cast Pontiac GTO (1965) car
Enter d5dviyrlgn as a code to unlock the Die-Cast Pontiac GTO (1965) car.
Die-Cast Porsche 911 Turbo car
Enter >8P:I; as a code to unlock the Die-Cast Porsche 911 Turbo car.
Die-Cast Volkswagen R32 car
Enter !2ODBJ: (contains the letter "O") or !3/$"): as a code to unlock the Die-Cast Volkswagen R32 car.
NeedforSpeed.com Lotus Elise car
Enter -KJ3=E or .+)3>$ as a code to unlock the NeedforSpeed.com Lotus Elise car.
Shelby Terlingua car
Enter NeedForSpeedShelbyTerlingua as a code to unlock the Shelby Terlingua car.
Evading the police
While being chased by the cops, go to the lower right-hand corner of the map, by the stadium. Then, cross the bridge nearby. The cops will not cross that bridge. -From: eric stutz
Achievements
Accomplish the indicated achievement to get the corresponding number of Gamerscore points:
Community Member (15 points): Create or use an existing account to sign into EA Nation.
Active Community Member (20 points): Participated in any Community Day. Visit NeedforSpeed.com for more info.
Freeze! Hold it right there! (25 points): Take a Photo and upload it to NeedforSpeed.com.
Learner's Permit (5 points): Acquire your first car in Career Mode.
Apprentice Mechanic (5 points): Customize a car in Career mode.
Meet Zack (10 points): Face off against Zack in 'Rush Hour'.
Meet Carmen (10 points): Face off against Carmen in 'The Game'.
Meet Hector (10 points): Face off against Hector in 'Versus'.
Meet Nickel (10 points): Face off against Nickel in 'Road Rage'.
Meet Rose (10 points): Face off against Rose in 'Rollercoaster'.
Zack Trap (25 points): Complete the Zack sequence in 'The Trap' mission.
Bowling with Hector (25 points): Complete the Hector sequence in the mission 'Kingpin'.
To Protect and Serve (25 points): Complete the Carmen sequence in the mission 'Rematch'.
Nickel and Dimes (25 points): Complete the Nickel sequence in mission 'Payback'.
2 Birds, 1 Stone (25 points): Complete the mission 'Double Trouble'.
Gold Coast to Ocean (15 points): Dominate the Gold Coast to Ocean event.
East Fasulo Bridge (15 points): Dominate the East Fasulo Bridge event.
Pine Creek & Douglas (15 points): Dominate the Pine Creek & Douglas event.
South Canyon Hwy (15 points): Dominate the South Canyon Hwy event.
East I-5 (15 points): Dominate the East I-5 event.
Bay Drive & Harbor (15 points): Dominate the Bay Drive & Harbor event.
Tri-City Run (15 points): Dominate the Tri-City Run event.
North River Expressway (15 points): Dominate the North River Expressway event.
Lose the Eye in the Sky (25 points): Escape from a helicopter in a successfully completed pursuit. (Must be Career level 8 or greater).
Path of Destruction (10 points): Disable 10 Police Cars in a Pursuit and successfully evade in Career.
Get out of the way! (5 points): Avoid 5 Road Blocks in a Pursuit and successfully evade in Career.
Aficionado (10 points): Purchase or win any 5 cars for your garage.
Keys to the City (5 points): Unlock Port Crescent in Career.
Branching out (10 points): Unlock Sunset Hills in Career.
Window Shopper (20 points): Discovered all 3 Pro Shops in Career.
Nothing Stock (20 points): Discovered all 3 Tuning Shops in Career.
Retired (40 points): Finish the Career Story.
Hired Goons (20 points): Takeout all the 'Goons' in Career.
5 Finger Discount (20 points): Complete all Hot Car Missions.
Chase or be Chased (20 points): Win all the Highway Battles in Career.
Own the Road (25 points): Dominate 25 events in Career.
Completionist (100 points): Complete all events in Career.
Unstoppable Force (10 points): Avoid 50 Road Blocks in Career.
Wasting Tax Dollars (20 points): Get $100,000 Cost to State in a single pursuit and evade.
Spiked Punch (10 points): Avoid a spike strip in a Pursuit and successfully evade in Career.
Love thy Tires (15 points): Avoid 12 Spike Strips total in Career pursuits.
Lose the Fuzz (10 points): Successfully complete 5 Pursuits.
Most Wanted (100 points): Successfully complete 50 Pursuits.
Scrapheap (25 points): Disable 100 Police vehicles.
Crossing the Line (10 points): Win a Ranked Multiplayer Cops and Robbers event.
First! (10 points): Won a Multiplayer Ranked Game.
First of Many (15 points): Win a Ranked Multiplayer event against 7 human players.
Among the Best (25 points): Won 25 Ranked Multiplayer events.
Notorious (50 points): Finish 119 Multiplayer Races in any position.
Cat and Mouse Virus (5 points): Infected with the Cops and Robbers virus by another player in a Cops and Robbers event.

Xbox Handheld Coming

Shortly before the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo, rumors surfaced that Microsoft was on the verge of announcing the ZuneX.

The ZuneX was purported to be a gaming handheld that integrated with Xbox Live Arcade and "ZuneX originals" and featured mobile-phone capabilities. That's a marked contrast from the current generation, which offers only a half-dozen games despite promises of titles that would be transferable from the Xbox 360.

The Xbox 360 may soon have a small, sleeker sibling.

With that rumor quickly marginalized as a phony by many industry watchers, Microsoft has now once again signaled that its portable gaming ambitions may extend beyond the struggling Zune. In an interview with gaming site Kikizo, Microsoft executive Shane Kim said that the Xbox brand is destined for the mobile platform.

"For us, it's a matter of focusing on 'when,' " said Kim, who transitioned from his role as head of Microsoft Game Studios to a strategic development position within the Interactive Entertainment and Devices division last year.

As for what's been holding up that "when," Kim said that the division has been focused on fleshing out the core Xbox 360 and Xbox Live experiences.

"If we chased after a mobile or handheld opportunity, we would not have the resources and ability to do things like instant-on 1080p HD, Facebook, Twitter, Project Natal," he said. "And so we've chosen to focus on the living room experience from a hardware standpoint, if you will, but we're building a service in Live that will...will extend to other platforms." [Emphasis in original.]

One other question facing the company is what form a mobile gaming device would take. "How do we enter into that market," pondered Kim. "Do we do our own device, do we create our own phone--that's a question for the company itself--do we continue to go down the Windows Mobile path, which is the path that we're on today, etcetera, etcetera."

Kim concluded by reemphasizing Microsoft's desire to be a player on all relevant platforms, whether that be consoles, desktops, or mobile devices.

This article was originally posted on GameSpot.com.

Intel May Release Core i7 975

Several distributors and retailers are showing that Intel's upcoming Core i7 975 will ship at the beginning of April, not the end of May.
Is the Intel Core i7 975 coming sooner than we think? That's what many distributors and retailers are reporting, and actually have the upcoming processor listed for next month. As an example, this website shows an April 6 street date, and this website shows an estimated date of April 7. Granted, these dates aren't official, and are estimates only. However, it's a huge jump considering that the Core i7 975 wasn't expected to ship until the end of May.
The release of the 45nm Core i7 975 (Extreme) is a rather highly-anticipated one, as the quad-core Bloomfield processor will serve as the new flagship chip for Intel, boasting a core speed of 3.33 GHz, support for LGA 1366 sockets, uses 1 MB of L2 cache and 8 MB of L3 shared cache memory, and has a TDP of 130W. Recently the processor was leaked, overclocked, and benchmarked, pushed up to an "extreme" clock core speed of 5,239 MHz, breaking the then-current record of Futuremark's 2DMark05 benchmark application. As it stands now, the benchmarked rig featuring the Core i7 975 sits in the #2 position, recently conquered by a rig sporting Intel's Core i7 965.
As of this writing, the Intel Core i7 975 will cost end-users a whopping $999 USD; the Core i7 950, clocking in at 3.06 GHz, will be available as well for a cheaper-but-still-hefty $562 USD. Other processors included in the original May lineup consist of the Core 2 Duo E7600 ($84), the Pentium Dual-Core E6300 ($84), and the Celeron Dual-Core E1600 ($53).
Intel also plans to ship six Core 2 Quad processors next month. (link)

Max Payne 3 for PC, PS3, 360

For fans of Max Payne, it has been a long wait since 2003 when the last game in the franchise was released to critical acclaim. Talk of a sequel came in 2004, when Take-Two hinted that a follow-up would eventually arrive. Fast-forward to 2008, and Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick once again mentioned the franchise, teasing that another installment may be in the works but again providing no firm details.

Today, Take-Two and its Rockstar Games subsidiary have announced that Max Payne 3 is indeed in development and is penned for a winter 2009 release on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. The game is being developed by Rockstar Vancouver, the same outfit behind the controversial sandbox action adventure Bully. Finnish outfit Remedy, which developed the first two Max Payne titles, is currently developing Alan Wake, which will be published by Microsoft.

Rockstar Vancouver will apparently not be straying far from Remedy's original formula, however, as Max Payne 3 again sees the titular retired NYPD veteran battling internal demons as well as those that plague the city's streets.

(click to Large Size)

"We're starting a new chapter of Max's life with this game," commented Rockstar cofounder Sam Houser in a statement. "This is Max as we've never seen him before, a few years older, more world-weary and cynical than ever. We experience the downward spiral of his life after the events of Max Payne 2 and witness his last chance for salvation."

Rockstar did not delve into specific gameplay details, and did not mention the series' genre-defining "bullet time" slow-motion technique. The publisher merely noted that "the latest installment delivers more of the classic elements and hyperintense action that fans have come to love." (story Link)

NVIDIA Tesla C1060 Computing Processor – Build Your Personal SuperComputer

This is not a Video Display Card/Board

The NVIDIA Tesla C1060 transforms a workstation into a high-performance computer that can dramatically outperform a small cluster. This gives technical professionals a dedicated computing resource at their desk-side that is much faster and more energy-efficient than a shared cluster in the data center. The Tesla C1060 is based on the massively parallel, many-core Tesla processor, which is coupled with the standard CUDA C programming environment to simplify many-core programming. The Tesla C1060 allows you to keep pace with the increasing demands of the toughest computing challenges including drug research, oil and gas exploration, and computational finance and its many-core architecture meets the computational demands of applications whose complexity has outstripped the CPU’s ability to solve them. This NVIDIA HPC Computing Processor uses the only C language environment that unlocks the many-core processing power of GPUs to solve the world’s most computationally-intensive challenges. Capable of 933 GFLOPs/s of processing performance puts it near the performance of small supercomputers and 4 GB of GDDR3 memory onboard gives you a total bandwidth of 102 GB/s.

Specifications

GPU/VPU:	NVIDIA Tesla C1060
Additional Features:	Nvidia CUDA Technology
Video Memory:	4 GB
Memory Type:	GDDR3
Memory Interface:	512-bit
Core Clock:	1296 MHz
Memory Clock:	800 MHz
Stream Processors:	240
Memory Bandwidth:	102.0 GB/sec.
Interface Type:	PCI Express 2.0
Interface Speed:	x16

Price US$ 1699-1799 Tigerdirect.com

Nvidia and Dell team up to ship Tesla-powered Personal Supercomputers

Nvidia announced today that Dell has begun shipping workstations with their Nvidia Tesla C1060 supercomputer card. Dell Precision R5400, T7500 and T5500 all offer Tesla GPU compute cards, which, according to Greg Weir, Senior Manager at Dell, “put the power of supercomputing on the desktop”.

Dell’s R5400 is a rack-mountable workstation computer designed for cluster operations. The T5500 and T7500 are tower-model workstations which sell for around $1800 base, plus the add-ons, which now include the C1060 which has an MSRP base price of around $1599.

The Tesla C1060 GPU provides raw computing power which is roughly equal to a small- to mid-range traditional CPU supercomputer cluster, though in a traditional dual-slot graphics card-sized configuration. The workloads it can operate on are not always the same as full-blown supercomputers, which can handle anything. Therefore, the C1060 does have real limitations (as do all graphics-based compute engines).

While the Tesla C1060 looks like a graphics card in appearance card, and even appears to software that way, it has no graphics port outputs. The Tesla is designed exclusively to be a compute engine which operates inside your PC.

Nvidia introduced double-precision (64-bit) floating point compute abilities with Tesla. The card itself is similar to high-end graphics cards offered by Nvidia, capable of nearly a Teraflop of dedicated single-precision compute performance (933 GFlops), with something around 80 Gigaflops in double-precision, though it is fully IEEE-754 compliant. It consumes up to 188 watts, has a memory bandwidth of 102 GB/s on a 512-bit interface 800 MHz clock, with a 1.3 GHz core clock with 240 stream processors. Each card comes with 4 GB of GDDR3 memory. Even though the Tesla C1060 card itself consumes up to 188 watts each, the reality is its compute abilities far exceed a traditional CPU-based supercomputer cluster, and for a fraction of the power and, according to Nvidia, for 1/100th the price.

The card’s dedicated compute is typically targeted at the oil and gas industries, computational finance, fluid dynamics, medical research and weather modeling — jobs which are traditionally sifting through volumes of data, computing with common operations like add, sub, multiply and divide.

It operates with Nvidia’s CUDA programming language, which exposes the compute abilities of the card through a C-like software interface.

See Nvidia’s press release, and information page about the Tesla C1060 released earlier this year in January. Nvidia also has a Tesla Personal Supercomputer Store, which shows several dedicated clusters which contain a series of Tesla cards inside, and are sold as true personal supercomputers. TigerDirect also published a YouTube video on Nvidia’s Tesla cards.

Rick’s Opinion

Nvidia’s second-generation Tesla C1060 was introduced nearly a year ago. That card is not up to today’s levels of performance and even greater performance can be obtained today through Nvidia or ATI’s highest-end graphics cards.

In fact, the Tesla is an expensive parallel compute engine, and one not required for massively parallel compute abilities thanks to the advancements in CUDA and BrookGPU libraries for Nvidia and ATI graphics cards.

Buying two or more high-end Nvidia’s GTX 2xx or ATI Radeon HD 4xxx series cards might be a wiser decision, as these cards yield well over 1 Teraflop of performance today on less power, while also providing usable graphics abilities for the workstation. And with Nvidia’s SLI and ATI’s CrossFire, the cards can be joined together for a single-instance compute appearance with even greater resources and power. (story Link)

Intel Core i7 : No Speed Limit Processor

The best desktop processors on the planet

Brilliantly fast

With faster, intelligent, multi-core technology that applies processing power where it's needed most, new Intel® Core™ i7 processors deliver an incredible breakthrough in PC performance. They are the best desktop processors on the planet.

You'll multitask applications faster and unleash incredible digital media creation. And you'll experience maximum performance for everything you do, thanks to the combination of Intel® Turbo Boost technology and Intel® Hyper-Threading technology (Intel® HT technology), which maximizes performance to match your workload.

Product information

* 2.93 GHz and 2.66 GHz core speed
* 8 processing threads with Intel® HT technology
* 8 MB of Intel® Smart Cache
* 3 Channels of DDR3 1066 MHz memory

Features and benefits
Go to the next level of multi-core performance.

Intel Core i7 processors deliver an incredible breakthrough in quad-core performance and feature the latest innovations in processor technologies:

Intel® Turbo Boost technology maximizes speed for demanding applications, dynamically accelerating performance to match your workload—more performance when you need it the most.

Intel® Hyper-Threading technology enables highly threaded applications to get more work done in parallel. With 8 threads available to the operating system, multi-tasking becomes even easier.

Intel® Smart Cache provides a higher-performance, more efficient cache subsystem. Optimized for industry leading multi-threaded games.

Intel® QuickPath Interconnect is designed for increased bandwidth and low latency. It can achieve data transfer speeds as high as 25.6 GB/sec with the Extreme Edition processor.

Integrated memory controller enables three channels of DDR3 1066 MHz memory, resulting in up to 25.6 GB/sec memory bandwidth. This memory controller's lower latency and higher memory bandwidth delivers amazing performance for data-intensive applications.

Intel® HD Boost significantly improves a broad range of multimedia and compute-intensive applications. The 128-bit SSE instructions are issued at a throughput rate of one per clock cycle, allowing a new level of processing efficiency with SSE4 optimized applications.

Intel® Core™ i7-920 Processor (2.66 GHz) Model: BX8Ø6Ø192Ø (Price $319.99 newegg.com)

Intel® Core™ i7-940 Processor (2.93 GHz) Model: BX8Ø6Ø194Ø   (Price $599.99 newegg.com )

Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 965 3.2GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 Quad-Core Processor- BX80601965 (Price $1069.99 newegg.com)

Dell 2707WPF LCD — Biggest. Display. Ever.

Some people might think that a man with a 27-inch monitor on his desk is trying to compensate for something. I swear, I just want as much real estate as I can get to juggle the dozens of windows that tend to build up during the day. With 333 square-inches of screen, I can line up all the Word documents, browser windows, and mail messages you could imagine, while still having enough resolution to actually see what each of them says. Come to think of it, maybe I am compensating—for my ever decroding eyesight.  — Mark McClusky

WIRED Big, bright screen fills your entire field of vision at normal working distances. Handsome industrial design is a step above most cheaper-looking models. Color accuracy very good, once adjusted using a calibration tool. Makes you feel like you’re inside what you’re doing, from web surfing to gaming.

TIRED Same 1,920 x 1,200-pixel resolution as some smaller models. Blots out view of the rest of your office. When forced to switch to another display, they feel somehow lacking.

$1,199, dell.com (Story Link)

Nokia N81 Cell Phone Is First US Phone With N-GAGE Platform

So I got this box in the mail that said N-GAGE on it. But the cell phone inside didn’t look like a taco. I was confused. I tried talking into the side of the slider — it worked just like a cell phone should. What''s this N-GAGE moniker for? Turns out, N-Gage is no longer the name of a specific phone—it’s a platform, meaning that in order to wear the storied (er, buried?) badge a handset must meet certain performance criteria when it comes to mobile gaming. And the phone in question, Nokia’s N81 8GB, is the first so-branded model to be released in the US. This handset has a 3D graphics accelerator, super-bright 16-million-color screen, and physical controls geared toward gaming. There are buttons on opposite ends of the device, mimicking the feel you get when you pick up say, an Xbox 360 controller. In the software department, the N81 runs the graying S60 operating system, and comes with a suite of demo games that cost about $10 to activate. Really? Come on guys, the new N-GAGE is supposed to keep us engaged not enraged.  —Joe Brown

WIRED 3G and Wi-Fi, which should be standard on every phone, thank you very much. Gaming controls work as advertised, with nary a mis-pressed button in several straphanger gaming sessions. 8 gigs is, like, plenty of memory. Sleek design and excellent build quality. Unlocked. Autofocus-free 2-megapizzle camera is paparazzi-fast.

TIRED Paparazzi-fast camera seems like it’s trying especially hard not to focus. Fancy piano-black screen is the opposite of antireflective. Topside button is built around the speaker, and squeaks if you move the phone around during a conversation (= always). Flat, nearly featureless keypad is impossible to use without looking down. Yo Nokia, why can’t you include at least one free game with my $630 phone? And where the @#$! is Snakes?! $629, nokia.com (story Link)

Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX Graphics Card

Unless “frag life” is tattooed across your stomach, it might be hard to justify dropping $500 on a video card. But if gaming is your religion, the purchase of Nvidia’s 8800 GTX is merely an act of contrition. Packed with an ungodly amount of horsepower, this card boasts a 575-MHz core processor with 768 MB of video memory and its memory speed maxes out at 900 MHz. When plugged into our testing rig, it cranked out an amazing 29 video frames per second in the ultra-graphically-intensive Oblivion: The Elder Scrolls IV with the resolution dialed up to 1920 x1200. Even our once hot-as-hell Nvidia 6800 Ultra couldn’t even come close to this performance; it only managed 3 frames per second at the same resolution.   —Bruce Gain

WIRED Virtually any game runs faster and clearer with sharper detail. Anti-aliasing features rid most games of jagged edges. Computationally intensive physics effects boost levels of realism for images of smoke, water, and shattered glass. DVI monitor support for dual displays with up to 2560 x1600 pixels. HDTV output.

TIRED 10.5-inch card is tough to cram into even the roomiest rigs. Requires a 450-watt power supply and a PCI-Express motherboard to function. This video card alone costs more than a Wii or Xbox 360. $599 (as tested), newegg.com (Story Link)

ASUS Nova P22 Mini PC Is No Small Wonder

If you like a liquid-cooled, oversized, overclocked, loud-as-a-harrier-jet, game-scorching PC tower, then ASUS’ new Nova P22 is not for you. At 9 in x 7.2 in x 2 in, it's a little longer and wider than a Mac Mini, in an aesthetically pleasing not-square chassis. Inside: a 1.8-GHz Core 2 Duo chip, an adequate Intel GMA 3000 graphics processor, 1 GB of ram, and a 160-GB hard drive. Almost enough oomph to run Vista — but not Doom. That’s OK, though, because the Nova was designed for your living room, not your game lair. Essentially it acts as a media streamer. We grabbed a DVI to HDMI cable, jacked it into our TV, and were using the Nova to pull movies off our home network within minutes of hitting the swank, touch-sensitive power button. Gaming be damned —Nate Ralph

WIRED: Decent price for the form factor. Media savvy as advertised. Analog and digital audio outs. Small and quiet. Sleek black finish is purty. 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.0 hardwired beneath its tiny carapace. Looks a lot like a Wii, if that does anything for you.

TIRED: Accidental shutdowns courtesy of the touchy power button. Strictly DVI video outputs, and this is an HDMI world. Built-in pencil holder (!) is useless if you stand the machine upright. Onboard “hi-fi” speakers could barely fill a small closet with sound. Cord management is tricky since all the inputs are on the back. Slightly underwhelming stats aren’t much good for tasks beyond media playing and sharing. $899, asus.com (story Link)

Key for Switch to Apple – 07

1. Should I buy a Mac-Intel PC now or wait until the new systems running the new OS X 10.5 (code named Leopard) arrive?
There's no particular need to wait because Tiger will work just fine. If you decide you want Leopard later on you have to buy.

2. Can I run Windows and Mac OS simultaneously toggling between the two?
The short answer is no. Boot Camp, Apple's downloadable application (in beta now but expected to come standard with Leopard), lets you switch between OSs but you have to reboot with each switch. You can run both OSs simultaneously with a utility, like Parallels Workstation.

3. Can I play my favorite Windows games, like Doom3, on a Mac? What other games can I play?
You'll be happy to hear that you can play your favorite Windows games on the new Mac-Intel systems, even against other Windows users. Keep in mind though that the 3D performance is directly affected by which graphics GPU you're using. And in a Mac-Intel, the highest end graphics card is the mid-range ATI Mobility Radeon X1600, which isn't as fast as the nVidia GeForce Go 7900GTX graphics system now available in systems like our Editor's Choice, Dell XPS M1710.

4. At home, I have two Windows PCs networked via WiFi. How difficult will it be to add the Mac-Intel into the mix? Will I be able to share files between my Windows PCs and my Mac-Intel whether it's running Windows OS or Mac OS?
Setting up your new Mac-Intel machine onto your PC network is easy. The Mac OS includes built-in support for Windows Sharing, which allows Macs to access files on your other Windows PCs. However, you need to enable this file-sharing option in OS X yourself since it's not a default factory setting. Enable File Sharing in Windows XP to view your Mac files.

Third party solutions are also available, like DAVE by Thursby software, which makes identifying Microsoft networks and sharing hard drives even easier in OS X.

5. Can I still use my old printer/scanner/wireless router or do I need to invest in a device?
First, check the Apple site or your peripheral manufacturer's site and see if they have Macintosh support and download the software for that specific model. Your wireless router will work with both Macs and Windows PCs without any additional software installations.

6. I do a great deal of work in Photoshop, and heard it runs slower on a Mac-Intel computer. Is this true?
Right now, yes that is true. The Universal Binary version of Adobe Photoshop CS2 is expected to address this disparity but will not be available until sometime in 2007. If you work primarily with OS X and rely heavily on Photoshop, you will notice a slow down. In that case, it might make more sense for you to wait until the next revision comes out. For a list of all the universal binary applications, check out (http://guide.apple.com/universal/).

7. Will I be able to see my IE bookmarks in both Mac OS and Windows OS?
Bookmarks are not synchronized between the Mac OS and Windows OS. You will have to import your bookmarks into the Mac OS and update them accordingly.

8. Does it slow the computer down to have both OS's open?
Technically, you cannot have both OS's open simultaneously. You can use Virtualization software like Parallels which is a PC emulator program that runs within OS X. Doing this though will place extra strain on your Mac's resources.

9. Is the Mac surround sound interface compatible with consumer electronic devices such as home theater receivers? I have a nice 5.1 living room speaker set up already.
The included optical out port on the iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro gives you surround sound capability and easily connects to home theater stereos provided you have an Optical Mini Jack To TosLink Cable.

10. Can I boot Mac OS X on a PC?
No. Mac OS X is not available for Windows-based PCs. (story Link)

Assassin’s Creed 2 : Behind the Pictures (wallpaper)

We were able to retrieve all the images of Assassin's Creed 2 published by Game Informer magazine, some are the same as those seen in our previous news, but better quality, others are unpublished. We see new environments, enemies that Ezio meet during the adventure and also an interesting photo comparison that highlights the way the developers are playing, a very faithful to the real counterparts, some of the most striking features of the city of Venice.

(for hq assassin's creed ii wallpapers click here)

so, don't forget to Bookmark this Blog.
the Pictures are Bigger than they appear.

so, don't forget to Bookmark this Blog.
the Pictures are Bigger than they appear.

Video Game Review : Monsters vs. Aliens

Most videogames based on movies don't come close to replicating the action and fun of the film. Games based on animated films have a built-in advantage, of course, but even those tend to look like afterthoughts — like someone figured the game had to have a movie tie-in but couldn't be bothered to spend the time and energy making it good on its own.

I'm very pleased to say that Monsters vs. Aliens: The Videogame for the Wii is an exception. It's not only good, but actually better than the movie! Now, I'll admit I didn't think much of the movie: My kids liked it a lot, which is great, but I thought it wasn't much more than a few funny scenes pulled together by a mediocre plot and thin characterization. I did like the animation and the voice acting in the movie, though, so it was great to see that the videogame replicated both very well.

The game doesn't closely follow the plot of the movie, which I consider a plus, because so much of the movie is taken up with scenes of Susan's transformation and its effects, and the President's efforts to communicate with the giant robot, and so forth. Those are important scenes for the movie, but really wouldn't translate well to a game. Instead, the game allows you to play Susan/Ginormica, B.O.B. and The Missing Link on missions, each monster's missions having their own unique style. Susan roller skates (using cars as skates, of course) around laser beams, robots and various other obstacles. B.O.B. oozes around, swallowing various things and spitting them out. And The Missing Link does more typical videogame stuff like beat up robots and generally try to destroy everything he can find.

I'm particularly fond of the B.O.B. missions, because they're the most innovative I've come across recently. B.O.B. can ooze through grates, but only if he's not carrying something inside him. He can swallow guards and thus go through doors that respond to the guards' transponders. And he can stick to walls and ceilings, giving the puzzles he needs to solve an added dimension. All of the missions have Doctor Cockroach's voice giving you advice, both on the game controls and on how to solve puzzles (you can disable the advice if you want). And the collaborative feature allows a second player to help out by firing lasers and tractor beams at anything on the screen.

I enjoyed this a great deal, because it's a perfect way for little kids to play the game: helping out an older kid or grownup who's better able to solve the puzzles and do the fine manipulations necessary to solve them. I'd like to see more designers take a cue from this game on that score, because I'm tired of having my kids get frustrated at puzzles they can't solve and simply giving up on the game entirely — this allows them to have fun and help out, but not have to be responsible for anything too complex for them.

The three primary monsters are voiced by the same actors as in the movie, which really adds a lot to the game, especially because you can "buy" commentaries from the monsters on the scenes you've already played: Hearing Seth Rogen's empty-headed B.O.B. humor, for example, really adds another level to things. I was a bit disappointed that Hugh Laurie didn't do Doctor Cockroach's voice in the game, but the actor who did it instead (James Horan) did an admirable job. And the art is absolutely outstanding, especially for a Wii game, and not just in the cut scenes. They even allow you to "buy" concept art and animation, so you can see some of the process as well.

Monsters vs. Aliens: The Videogame for the Wii retails for $50. I highly recommend it, both for adults and kids. I have had a lot of fun playing it both by myself and with my kids, and like it much more than the movie.

Wired: Great gameplay, animation and voice talent. An exceedingly well thought-out game all around.

Tired: Monster "challenges" required in order to get certain character upgrades are mostly just replays of the same levels you've just done, only with time limits. It's not altogether bad, but repetitive after a while. (story Link)

Operation Flashpoint 2 Interview

VideoGamer.com: The game is being developed in-house. Who is actually developing it? Is it being developed here at Codemasters?

Clive Lindop: Yeah, it's on site. The team was actually upstairs, above you (during previous game demonstration).

VideoGamer.com: It's a first-person shooter from Codemasters. What are the team's credentials in that genre?

CL: The original team, and I was one of the first people to start, so I've been here almost four years, almost every single team member is a new recruit, was a new recruit. They came from loads of different studios, in the UK industry and the American industry. There's a good hundred and something people from all over the world, all from different studios. They went out and found people, they went out and just went, right we need guys with experience with this, this and this, and pulled that expertise in-house, which is the only smart way of doing it. It's proven to be the right choice, because not only do you need people who have some experience in that genre, but it's a relatively unique technological situation as well. You're effectively developing technology at the same time. A developer can go through his entire career and only ever work on a complete middleware engine, never have to deal with any new technology development or new system writing. That was a pretty tough call because you've got to find people that are not only willing to take on just about the most complex FPS you can build, but build it on an evolving technology. That was pretty interesting. We got a fantastic mix of guys in the team, with a lot of different experience. Guys who are specialists in vehicle physics and mechanics, guys who are specialists in AI and all that kind of stuff. It's a good team of people. Hard working as well!

VideoGamer.com: The game strikes me as something that's pulling away in a completely different direction to current trends, in that it sticks a finger up at casual gamers and accessible gaming.

CL: Well I don't think casual gamers exist. They are a marketing demographic. There are players, and players like different types of games. There is a place for that kind of casual gameplay. I love Team Fortress 2. (full Story)

Assassin's Creed's 2 : Information From Informer

Seems some people are getting early copies of this month's issue of Game Informer. Obviously, there’s a ton of spoiler detail here, so don’t look if you want to be in any way surprised when the game releases later this year.

(for hq assassin's creed ii wallpapers click here)

Oh, and take all this with a grain of salt. The GI subs issues don’t hit until next week.

*SPOILERS*

Sooo I'm looking at the new Game Informer right now, and it tells a few thing but only has one new image, the one we already have, the 5th one.

- You'll have a ton of new weapons to choose from including an axe, a hammer, a mace, a spear, 2 different sword types, a spear axe thing, and 2 smaller blades
- You CAN swim
- Da Vincis workshop is in the game
- Locations include Saint Marks Basilica, The Grand Canal, The Little Canal, and the Rialto bridge.
- The game opens in 1476, Altair is from 1191
- So you do indeed play as a new ancestor of Altair / Desmond
-You will see the countryside of Tuscany
- The "Auditore" family is mentioned
- The main characters name is Ezio Auditore de Firenze
- He is a nobleman of Florence
- Big characters are in the game including Machiavelli, Caterina Sofrza, and Lorenzo de Medici
- YOU DO INDEED FLY AND THERES A PICTURE OF IT.
and thats just what I got from the pictures. I'll let you know more details as I read more.
- Game will feature a new notoriety system that governs how enemy soldiers and people will treat you.
- You can disarm enemies and use their own weapons against them this time.
- each weapon has a special move.
- 16 unique mission types.
- No more ease dropping or pick pocketing missions.
- If you get beat up to much you will need to see a street side doctor to regain ful strength.
- Hidden objects (like flags in the first one) are there to uncover but this time if you track them down you will get in-game bonuses that make it worth your time.
- Items include, flags, statues, and gold coins and more that isnt mentioned.
- New enemy types with unique attitudes and weaknesses are present in the game. Archers are mentioned, as well as elite enemies, dagger wielders, "Brutish" armored troops with heavy armor and 2 handed swords and axes, and an intelligent halberd enemy will probe hiding places with their weapons if they think you're near by.
- While hiding in a hay bail you can assassinate people this time, but it may expose your position.
- You can still climb towers and ride horses
- The Lorendo de Medici assassination is in the game.
- There is now a night and day sequence in the game.
- 240 people are working on this title. (link)