Looking for your regular fix of brain-busting challenges games for your PSP? Developer Maurice10 visited the QJ.NET Forums earlier to announce the release of PSPicross v0.3, a lua-coded homebrew game that allows you to play a Nonogram logic puzzle on your handheld.

PSPicross was originally released by developer Mike Haggar back in 2005, with Maurice10 being given permission to release this latest build. Here are the game’s current features:

• Sizes 5, 10 and 15 supported
• PicrossDS-like graphics
• Timer
• Music and sounds
• File browser
• Puzzle Editor/Maker
• 215 puzzles included
• Highscore tracking

Full details on PSPicross’ rules and controls are available in the file bundle readme. You may also want to visit Maurice10’s release thread at the QJ.NET PSP Development Forum if you’re interested in leaving your feedback.

Download: PSPicross v0.3
Visit: QJ.NET PSP Development Forum

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Those positively fed up with lengthy lines for coasters at amusement parks will likely dig the concept here. Evento’s BuzzBall is essentially a personal roller coaster, which reportedly features a “single seat inside a large outer ball that’s able to spin and roll independently of the ball itself” alongside a pair of electric motors used to power it. Better still, you don’t even need a hill to ride, just a wide open field (or a road, if you’re the daredevil type) to frolic in. As it stands, the BuzzBall is simply a prototype waiting to flourish, but it sure looks like this company is serious about selling at least a few to those with enough resources (you know, cash and spare time) to enjoy it.

[Via OhGizmo]

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Due to the turbulent waters surrounding E3 this year, there’s a kind of death watch on as to who else would leave the Entertainment Software Association and join the likes of Activision and LucasArts before the event actually starts.

Crave Entertainment, the studio behind Jade Cocoon, was the latest one to leave the ESA. Without proper clarification, it was pretty easy to assume their reasons for leaving. However, it seems that their exit wasn’t due to the politics surrounding E3.

According to the studio’s president, Michael Maas, Crave left because the company is being sold. The studio will, as a matter of fact, still be presenting at E3. Maas further clarifies Crave’s stand regarding the issue:

Crave s departure from ESA at this juncture is not a statement against the value provided by our longstanding membership, but rather was motivated by our need to focus on the impending sale of our company.

As much as their reasons may not be spurred by political reasons, their departure still decreases the ranks of the ESA. Will E3 be successful enough to bring studios back to the fold? Only time will tell.

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It’s time for another batch of Blu-ray movies this week! This batch features your usual healthy mix of content - drama, music, comedy - but this week’s theme seems to be action as they comprise the bulk of eleven releases.

Headlining this batch is none other than the Caped Crusader of Gotham himself in Batman The Movie: Special Edition. If you’re thinking that this is Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson as Batman and the Jiker respectively, you’re mistaken. This one stars Adam West from way back in the heyday of the TV show. Watch old-school Batman battle fiends like the Penguin, The Riddler, and of course, The Joker.

More action follows with Leonardo DiCaprio as he assumes the role of Amsterdam, a 19th-century New Yorker whose father was slain by resident city bad-asses. What he uncovers later on is a bloody trail of gang-related violence that leads to the cause of his father’s murder. If this flick leaves you craving for more psychological action, then Vantage Point is another one worth recommending. It tells the story behind the assassination attempt on the American president as captured in an amateur video, dissected to reveal a stunning truth.

Speaking of presidential assassinations, you probably remember Clint Eastwood’s In the Line of Fire. In this movie, Clint takes on the role of retired Secret Service agent Frank Horrgan who can’t get over his failure to foil the Kennedy assassination in his youth. When a psychotic assassin calling himself Booth surfaces and threatens to kill the current President, Horrgan is the only one who takes it seriously and hunts down the potential assassin to make up for his past failure.

On that note, you may also want to grab Point Break: Pure Adrenaline which takes you on an intense ride aboard the Southern California waves. Keanu Reeves stars as undercover agent Johnny Utah as he infiltrates a gang of surfers suspected to be behind a series of bank robberies. With skills on the board and cunning to stay low-profile, Utah must fulfill a mission that can potentially end up with hing sleeping with the fishes.

Okay, enough meanie-gritty stuff. Over to the lighter side of things, this week offers up a barrel of laughs with Get Smart’s Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control while maintaining some action elements. Want more comedy hybrids? how about Meet the Browns: Special Edition or Sex and Death 101 ? They offer up a bittersweet blend of drama and comedy. Laughing and crying in one movie seems weird, but it can happen.

Or you can go for Drillbit Taylor: Extended Survival Edition if you just want the laugh minus the action and the drama. It explores the world of high school freshmen getting their feet wet on adolescence, running into mischief and lessons along the way.

If pure, unadulterated boo-hoos are your cup of tea, then you might want to consider getting Mad Men: Season One. In the cutthroat world of advertising in 1960’s New York, is there a place for love, life, and friendship among highly-competitive ad professionals? You can find out by watching the maiden season of this TV series.

For those seeking some good music, we’ve got extremes waiting on the wings. For those who want their music loud and aggressive, Korn: Live at Montreux should be the bomb. If you’re more of an easy listener, you can go for John Mayer: Where the Light Is and enjoy some light riffs.

Finally, we have the documentary Ganges which gives us an in-depth view of India’s sacred river. More than the body of water, this video will show the subcontinent’s rich culture and how it was built around this holy place.

That’s it for now. Stick around and we’ll update you on next week’s up and coming Blu-ray releases. Happy viewing!

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OK, many video games are indeed played on a TV, but correct me if I’m wrong, EVE is a PC game, so it’s most likely played on a monitor, right?

Thus ends my attempts to Bazooka Joe every post I do today.

Ahem, anyway. We told you about the Council of Stellar Management a couple weeks back. They just had their big congressional session up in Iceland, home of CCP, the developer of EVE Online. A New York Times reporter went up to report on the proceedings and, surprise surprise. People are more civil in person than they are online!

Yet in person — around the conference table, in the CCP cafeteria, over cocktails amid the infamous Reykjavik nightlife — the vitriol and bickering that had often characterized their in-game interaction largely fell away, replaced by mostly cordial cooperation. Late at night, in the back room of a bar, you could even witness high-level political negotiations among the players.

Granted, it would take a deep and firsthand knowledge of EVE Online to report on any developments out of the Council of Stellar Management (I can’t help but imagine Bill Lumbergh after typing those words). And the NYT reporter admits a general cluelessness — then again, aren’t most of us. So, not sure what the confab accomplished other than taking the EVE players to a site where Icelandic tribes once met to resolve differences. And of course, since this was a summer conclave of EVE’s student body government, you know that means at least one wholly unexpected hookup in a hot tub somewhere. But that wasn’t reported.

A Council of Eve Online Gamers [The New York Times]

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Filed under: Laptops

Okay, so maybe Cizmo’s CX1730M is based heavily on Clevo’s M570TU, but it’s still one beast of a machine. This 17-inch monster packs a 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of DDR3 RAM, a 160GB SATA hard drive, WSXGA+ panel, a 2-megapixel webcam, dual-layer DVD burner (or optional Blu-ray drive), NVIDIA’s 512MB GeForce 8800M GTX and a plethora of ports. Amazingly, this one tips the scales at “just” 8.7-pounds, which actually isn’t half bad for a unit this potent. Additionally, it looks as if you can order this puppy in a variety of hues — including the above pictured camouflage — right now starting at €1,427 ($2,249).

[Via NotebookItalia]

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Here’s Sony’s Eric Lempel. Eric’s taking us through Sony’s 2.40 firmware update for the PS3, and in particular, how the much-requested in-game XMB is going to work. Pleased? You’re no doubt the sensible type, who knew not to expect too much. Disappointed? You’ve got nobody to blame but yourself (specifically, your unrealistic expectations).

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Filed under: Gaming

It’s here kids, in-game XMB demonstrated on a firmware 2.40 PS3 for the first time. Yup, that’s the clock and date displayed upper-right with a quick hit of the PlayStation button. Sony also reveals that the 2.40 firmware update will deliver the Google search bar (like the PSP update last week) and the ability to play and control your own music stored on the hard drive in-game. See that and more in the video after the break.

Continue reading Video: In-game XMB demonstrated on PS3 v2.40

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Filed under: Fan stuff

We’ve reported before on real-world Halo creations, but this one certainly takes the cake. Being about as accurate as a fake energy sword can possibly be, this replica recreation actually has real blades, though the extent of their sharpness isn’t exactly detailed on the website. The tempered steel sword looks to be perfect for all the live action role-players out there looking to step up their fantasies a notch and get rid of their homemade cardboard plasma swords. Strangest of all, the thing’s base price is less than that of a full priced 360 game …

[Thanks Vinny]

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We’ve got more information for you on the Soul Calibur 4 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360) front today. Apparently, the game’s getting even more features than we expected, and they include a new mode and a nifty ability we’ve seen in other video games before.

It’s been revealed that the game will get character swapping, at least in the single player mode. The swapping, usually seen in tag matches, makes it seem as if characters will be meeting each other and teaming up in story mode for good old-fashioned storyline questing. The swap will allow for combo-making, but reportedly depletes the swapping meter.

There also appears to be a new mode in the game, known as the Soulless Tower mode. It’s supposed to be a single-player mode with one main goal: to reach the top of the tower. Each level has treasure chests you can pick up that are filled with goodies, and you can reportedly use the swapping feature when fighting enemies there. You’ll also be able to use multiple create-a-soul characters as well as existing characters, which is a great feat.

Below are the rest of the tidbits found by CAG forumgoers:

Single Player Mode

• game feature dizzy : getting hit into walls makes you dizzy.
• game feature guard impact : opponent will fall during guard impact.
• game feature instant impact : when opponent attacks during guard impact.
• armor bar : keep blocking, bar becomes red, and eventually blue.
• soul impact : attack until opponent’s health meter is red, then make opponent block -or- you can initiate with a guard impact.
• soul impact : when opponent is soul impacted, enter the heavy finish command to execute.
• soul impact : performing soul impact is a victory, regardless of circumstances.

Create-A-Soul Mode

• custom characters : complete freedom for use of parts, color change, and cloth combinations.
• custom characters : body build and muscle are also adjustable, there’s a 100 levels of modification.
• custom characters : you can change fighting styles and abilities.
• custom characters : 50 character slots.
• custom characters : use parts obtained and equipment bought; you can build ninja looking characters.
• custom characters : you can edit 20 parts of the character, you can also change voice depths, also equip parts on existing characters.
• custom characters : adjusting both structure and muscle build makes appearance change more visible.
• custom characters : appearance and voice can be modified at will.

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