A quick summary for those who can’t watch the video right now: guy gets into jumpsuit, then wears a specially-designed (and most likely heavy) harness that carries a HD-capable Epson projector, a PS3, and loads of batteries. Guy goes around the vicinity, playing games on the a building’s side wall, the road, and even the while floating in the air courtesy of a practice parachuting vertical fan. The video ends with a brief warning not to attempt said stunt in any way, anywhere.

Game played: An unspecified member of the Need for Speed series.
Equipment: PlayStation 3, Epson TW450-HD projector, unspecified battery packs

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There are obvious questions over the video’s authenticity, whether it was the psychologically-abnormal rant or an actor practicing his craft in other words. Regardless, this video is simply too creepy, keeping my natural penchant for schadenfreude whimpering under the covers. That’s what a real bleeding wound (from all appearances) and tear-filled, nearly-incomprehensible rage does to a viewer.What do you think? This is simply too true to be fake in my opinion. And in any case, a friend theorizes the raging speaker was totally frustrated with failing at MW2’s multiplayer, and this isn’t the first time I’ve heard someone rage over MW2’s apparently cutthroat multiplayer environment, weird or not.Source

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Game of the Year

• Assassin’s Creed 2
• Batman: Arkham Asylum
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• Left 4 Dead 2
• UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves

Studio of the Year

• Infinity Ward
• Naughty Dog
• Rocksteady Studios
• Valve

Best Music Game

• DJ Hero
• Guitar Hero 5
• LEGO Rock Band
• The Beatles: Rock Band

What are your picks for this year? Given my passion for Valve’s recent work, I’ll let my bias speak for the first two categories: Left 4 Dead 2 and Valve for the win! Oh, as for the Best Music Game, I’ve always doubted the “greatness” of theme-games, so it’s really a contest between DJ Hero and Guitar Hero 5. Given the six-string instrument’s more classic feel, and the fact that I’ve never played DJ Hero, the fifth Guitar Hero installment should win the award.

What about you? What are your picks for this year, biases and all? For the rest of the awards, visit the event page at spike.com.

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Any discerning computer parts shopper knows its not really about buying the most expensive parts, but getting the parts that maximize your money.

This applies even when you’re working with an unlimited budget. Even if you’ve budgeted several thousand dollars for your dream gaming PC, it still makes sense not to spend on what you really don’t need, right?

Take for instance the sub-$2000 gaming PC shared by Tom’s Hardware forum member tecmo34. While it spends top dollar on what’s now the most powerful consumer-level graphics card on the planet (the ATI Radeon HD 5970), it’s still content to spend “just” $290 for the Intel Core i7 920, not spending a thousand on the higher-end i7 975.

That’s because in terms fo performance, you get more by spending on the 2.66GHz i7 920, then simply overclocking it to clock speeds close to the i7 975’s 3.33GHz. Ultimately, extreme gaming performance depends more on your video card, not on your processor, no matter what Intel’s marketing tells you. At the same time, why would you bother spending top dollar on a Blu-Ray burner, when a $30 DVD rewriter is all you need for now?

Extreme Enthusiast Gaming Build

Without further ado, here’s tecmo34’s Extreme Enthusiast Gaming Build:

	Component	Item	Cost
	CPU	Intel Core i7-920 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor	$289
	Motherboard	ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 ATX Intel Motherboard	$289
	RAM	OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory	$164
	Heatsink Fan Assembly	XIGMATEK Intel Core i7 compatible Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler	$45
	Solid State Disk	Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2M080G2XXX 2.5″ 80GB SATA II	$290
	Hard Disk	SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5″ SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive	$85
	GPU	SAPPHIRE 100280OCSR Radeon HD 5970	$625
	PSU	Antec CP-850 850W Continuous Power “compatible with Core i7″ Power Supply	$120
	Optical Drive	Sony Optiarc DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B	$32
	Case	Antec Twelve Hundred Black Computer Case With Side Panel Window	$150
	Thermal Paste	Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound	$7
Total			$2096

There you have it, “only” $2096 for the most powerful PC gaming hardware money can buy. You can spend a whole lot more on parts that are technically more powerful, but the law of diminishing returns plays more of a role beyond this level. The build above obviously doesn’t include a display, other peripherals, and even the OS, so let’s cover that below.

Display

With such a powerful gaming build at your disposal, it’s an utter waste to settle for small displays that have a resolution less than 1920 x 1080. Heck, the 5970 is powerful to drive six different displays. I am not kidding.

Anyways, if your budget was nearly drained by the build above, there’s nothing wrong with settling for “just” the Hanns·G HG-281DPB, a $300 27.5″ display with a resolution of—you guessed it—1920 x 1080. To maximize the video card however, you need to get at least two.

However, if you really want to go all the way, while still maximizing your money, then why not get an LED TV? Paying $2800 for a computer monitor sounds a bit extreme, but there’s no easier way to equip your setup with a large display.

Peripherals

If you do opt for the LED TV display above, you’d better get a wireless mouse keyboard combo like the Logitech Pro 2800 Cordless Desktop ($65), so that you can keep yourself an appreciable distance away from the TV. For a more conventional mouse-keyboard setup however, the Logitech Black Internet 350 USB Keyboard and Microsoft D66-00066 Black Wired Optical Mouse cost $12 each.

Operating System

Without a doubt, you should get Windows 7. Unless you need advanced network management and file encryption functionality, there’s no reason to opt for the pricey Ultimate Edition. With 6GB of RAM in the build above, you’ll need Windows 7 Professional edition, 64-bit ($140).

Suggestions

Got anything to add here? Feel free to leave ‘em below.

Source

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While only the Boomer made an appearance in the demo above (and is actually tougher than your typical infected, compared to the original), creator Eric Ruth assures us that the finished product, to be made available for free this January 4, 2010, will be more complete. Q & A detailing the game below!

Q: Is this just an animation or an actual game?
A: An actual game. It will be available for free download on PC around January 4th, 2010.

Q: I only see one “special infected.” Will there be more?
A: Yes. All 5 special infected appear in this game regularly.

Q: How far along are you currently?
A: As of November 15th, I am completed with the first “mission: No Mercy” as well as most of the core game play mechanics.

Q: Does Valve know about this? And would they approve?
A: No, Valve doesn’t know about it yet, but I’m sure (with their love of community creations) that they will find this mildly amusing at worst, and hilarious at best.

Q: Will this version have all of the campaigns from the original game?
A: Yes. All 5 maps of all 4 campaigns will be present in the final product.

Q: Like your other games, did you make this one all by yourself?
A: With the exception of a few friends backing me up in the QA area, yes, the coding, debugging, sound effects, music and pixel art are all original work of Eric Ruth.

Q: Will there be more videos that show off more of the game?
A: Maybe 1 or 2, but that’s about it. If you want to see every campaign and fight every zombie, then you will have to download and play it.

This should just about wrap it up. When more information becomes available, I will display it somewhere here. Thanks a lot guys, and keep watching!

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The Original Diablo

I’m not kidding. In some ways, the first Diablo provided a more compelling gameplay experience than Diablo II and its expansion, Lord of Destruction. There were limits: you couldn’t run, magic item generation depended only on the item’s prefix and suffix, and the sole setting were the abandoned catacombs underneath a church. But these limitations actually create a very weighty atmosphere, something that Diablo II honestly failed to retain.

Download the original demo here, and buy the complete game from Amazon here.

Sacred

Released way after Diablo II, Sacred was rightfully named a Diablo clone. Right down to the color-coding of items, Sacred also copied the Red is health and Blue is Mana archetype. But the game was still a blast to play, and the publisher was kind enough to make 2 more regions, along with new monsters, items, and quests available for free (Sacred Plus).

Buy Sacred here, then download Sacred Plus here.

Torchlight

Made by former Diablo level designers at Blizzard, Torchlight pretty much updates the Diablo template, relying on a mix of some tweaks and improved graphics to keep the gameplay relatively fresh. To be honest, I’ve yet to play Torchlight, but eager recommendations from gaming friends have piqued my interest, and $20 on Steam seems pretty reasonable. In any case, a demo is available here.

If you’re wondering why you should spend money while waiting for Diablo III, keep in mind that a year is a very long time! And if you’re like me, you’re tired of Diablo II’s sprawling yet seemingly unfocused settings, seemingly selfish item drops, and mindless left-clicking. To be honest that’s most likely because after playing a game for 8 years, you definitely want something different, yet strangely familiar.

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My first encounter with this legal adventure game series saw me take on the role of Phoenix Wright, and I was a rookie defending attorney who became a master of cross examination. I even got help from the spirit of my murdered mentor, who somehow possessed her younger sister and made her more… womanly.

Whether or not you’ve played an Ace Attorney game, CAPCOM has made a short flash-based demo of Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth available online. While previous Ace Attorney games mostly cast the player character as the defense lawyer, AAI:ME’s protagonist is Miles Edgeworth, the so-called “demon” prosecutor. The demo literally provides a sneak peek, ending after you’ve made the first investigation breakthrough.

CAPCOM should’ve put more thought into this 3MB demo though. Without the ability to skip through the numerous dialog, playing the demo might prove tedious for those unfamiliar with the Ace Attorney series. In any case, click on the link below to download! The actual game itself, Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, will debut outside of Japan this February 2010.

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth Demo

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Recently however, I’ve realized my compulsion to buy stems from the slick marketing process built into Steam’s interface. By default, you are presented with the home page of Steam store once you load the client. Sometimes a pop-up appears, upon start-up or after exiting a game, detailing all the latest games and promos available from Steam. Both are designed to keep you aware of what’s new, subtly pushing you to open up your wallet and make Valve (and its partner publishers) richer.

Luckily, you can change the Steam client settings and lessen temptations to buy. It’s a simple matter of clicking on the File Menu of the Steam client and selecting Settings. Once the dialog pops-up, all you have to do is set your Favorite Window to anything other than “Steam”, and unchecking Notify me (with Steam instant messages) about additions or changes to my games, new releases, and upcoming releases. Then click OK to save the new settings.

What this does is minimize the temptations to buy new games. Now when you start up Steam, you’re brought directly to your games; you don’t get to see the store until you intentionally choose to go there, saving you from the skillfully crafted “buy now” messages plastered all over Steam’s home page. The same applies to disabling Steam’s notifications, as there are now less opportunities for Valve to ply its wares on your impressionable gaming mind.

With fewer temptations to buy, you indirectly save more money, and continue maximizing the advantage that attracted you to Steam in the first place: low-priced legit copies of PC games.

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$505 Intel Build

• CPU: Intel Pentium E5300 2.6GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor ($70)
• MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L ATX Intel Motherboard ($80)
• RAM: CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory ($90)
• HSF: Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2 ($35)
• HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 500GB 3.5″ SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive ($55)
• PSU: Antec earthwatts EA430 430W Continuous Power Power Supply ($55)
• GPU: XFX Radeon HD 4650 HD-465X-YAF2 Video Card ($50)
• DVD: Sony Optiarc DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B ($30)
• Case: COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black Computer Case ($40)

$505 AMD Build

• CPU: AMD Phenom II X2 545 3.0GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor ($90)
• MOBO: ASUS M2A74-AM Micro ATX AMD Motherboard ($60)
• RAM: CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory ($90)
• HSF: Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2 ($35)
• HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 500GB 3.5″ SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive ($55)
• PSU: Antec earthwatts EA430 430W Continuous Power Power Supply ($55)
• GPU: XFX Radeon HD 4650 HD-465X-YAF2 Video Card ($50)
• DVD: Sony Optiarc DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B ($30)
• Case: COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black Computer Case ($40)

Both builds are meant to be overclocked, to maximize the gaming power of the components. If you’re building a new PC from scratch, you may need a display, mouse, keyboard, a headset, and of course, the OS. Here are some more suggestions from tecmo:

• OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders ($140)
• Display: Acer X193Wb Black 19″ 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor ($120)
• Keyboard: Logitech Black Internet 350 USB Keyboard ($15)
• Mouse: Microsoft D66-00066 Black Wired Optical Mouse ($12)
• Speakers Logitech S-220 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System ($24)

With the above extras, you’ve got a total of $816, regardless of your processor brand loyalties. Prices are from NewEgg, are current as of this writing, and don’t include shipping or taxes.

Source

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