Saturday, November 27, 2010

Your Brain's Stupid???

 You may of recently seen that "Which way is the ballerina spinning" advertisements. Well we've gone a little in depth, and done some research, so you don't have to! It turns out, there actually is some truth to it after all! We'll also show you some other illusions as well, some optical, some logical!

 One thing to know first is; which way you see the ballerina spinning, has nothing to do with which side of you brain is stronger. That is just a common misconception. Where that theory came from, I got no idea. Also, it's actually called the "Spinning Dancer".

Spinning Dancer. Created by web designer Nobuyuki Kayahara.
If the foot touching the ground is perceived to be the left foot, she
is spinning clockwise. If the foot touching the ground is perceived
to be the right foot, she is spinning counter-clockwise.
 Now, you may see it going counter-clockwise, or clockwise, either way, you're right!

 The thing about the dancer is, it has nothing in it for depth perception. Due to the lack of cues for depth, you're brain ends up making it's own, imaginary cues. For example, see that one arm sticking out, when it's swinging to the left, is it swinging in-front of her, or behind her?

 Now, some of you may be able to change the direction whenever you want, and some of you may have to focus as much as you can for it to change.










 Then there's the Necker Cube. A little bit more of a simplistic idea, one anyone of you could draw on a simple piece of paper.
Necker Cube. Designed in 1832 by Swiss crystallographer Louis Albert Necker.
This one, once again, relies on the lack of depth cues. Which square is in-front? Yet, again, either one is correct!

 Now we got, well I don't know what it's called exactly, but we know how it works!









 Then there's this, whatever this is. All I can tell you is, it's a black-&-white photo, that appears to be in color. (Now, not that we want to scare anyone, but when it comes to optical illusions like this, you can actually become color-blind if you look at it too much!)
I don't now what it's called, but just read the instructions on the picture! 

 This one works slightly different, what it does is, it displays certain colors. Now, in order to understand how it works. You have to understand that, you eyes only see Red, Green, and Blue (white being a combination of all three). Every other color we see is actually a combination of these three colors.

 In our eyes, we have these thing called cones. Cones are what allow use to see colors. By starring at blue (like in this picture), you're making your cones less sensitive to blue.

 So now when you see, yellow (red and green) in this black-&-white picture, you are actually looking at white. A simple equation is, (white - a = b), where "a" is the color you see prior, and "b" is the color you see after. So for the left building, (white - blue = red and green), and (red + green = yellow).

 More soon!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Best Dock for Ubuntu 10.10

If you're someone you uses Ubuntu, but just loves that flashy look (or just likes to show off), this tutorial might come in handy!
 

Carl on Duty (yes it's old)

Carl Winslow, is Carl Winslow, and well, Carl Winslow. Who can argue with that?

In case you don't know what I'm talking about, cause I honestly don't, I'm going to tell you. A while ago a "parody?" of Call of Duty: Black Ops's game cover was made/released, and, well, this is it... Carl on Duty: Black Cops.
Call of Duty: Black OpsCall of Duty: Black Ops

Oh $#!%! That's a Good Deal!

Canadian stores throughout, well, Canada, have great Black Friday deals! Here's just a few (from GameStop);

GameSpot;

  • Killzone - $14.99
  • inFamous - $14.99
  • Uncharted Drake's Fortune - $14.99
  • Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction - $14.99
  • PlayStation 3 EA Sports NHL 11 Bundle - $299.99
     - PlayStation 3 160GB System
     - Dualshock 3 Wireless Controller
     - NHL 11 game
     - inFamous Greatest Hits game
  • God of War III - $39.99
  • PlayStation Portable Bundle - $129.99
     - PSP-3000 System
     - LittleBigPlanet UMD game
     - The Karate Kid UMD movie
     - 1GB Memory Stick PRO Duo
  • Dualshock 3 Wireless Controller - $54.99/Each
  • ModNation Racers - $39.99
  • Gran Turismo 5 (Plus Pre-Order Bonus) - $59.99
  • PSPgo (PLUS Digital Game Pack, includes 3 FREE game downloads) - $149.99
  • Metal of Honor - $54.99
And more GameStop! To see full list click here!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Good Times... Good Times...

We just want to take a moment to go back in time, to the time Kevin Butler went to, this present day Kevin Butler (confused, well, it's kinda hard to explain time travel).

We recently came across this old PlayStation Move commercial, and well, I personally have never seen it before, and it's just a huge smack in the face for Xbox's Kinect, and Nintendo Wii.

PlayStation Home Title Update 1.40

PlayStation Home version 1.40 is out now! So what's in 1.40 you might ask (or not)? Well;
  • Public Voice Chat (is back)
  • Grouping
  • Cross-Game Invites
  • Inventory Management
  • and more!
How to Update;

Now surprisingly Sony's instruction were a little different then what I would of done, so I'll just tell you Sony's. (Don't worry, just one extra step... Still only THREE steps though).
  1. Start PlayStation Home.
  2. Wait, for the orange HDD activity light on front of PS3 to stop flashing.
  3. Press "X" to begin download/installation.
If something goes wrong Sony says too, "Delete the current PlayStation(R)Home application by
selecting the PlayStation(R)Home icon on the XMB(TM) (XrossMediaBar), pressing Triangle, and then selecting the Delete option. This will not affect your Save files nor will it cause you to lose any of your content. After you have deleted the PlayStation(R)Home application, simply reselect the PlayStation(R)Home icon and then follow the on-screen instructions to reinstall PlayStation(R)Home and upgrade to the 1.4 client".

Friday, November 19, 2010

Black Ops Wii review

Anyone concerned that the Wii version of Black Ops is just a garbage port shouldn't worry. Black Ops on the Wii is more or less identical to its HD brothers in terms of game modes (all-though, it's graphics may not be as good).

Black Ops is set during the Cold War (1960s) so you'll be fighting through communist countries such as Cuba, Russia, Vietnam and you will come across Fidel Castro and President Kennedy. It's an interesting setting and the globe-trotting keeps things fresh.

Black Ops, fixed many issues with the earlier Modern Warfare 2. It has less ropey textures, and much smoother frame rate (all-though are there are some "issue" areas).

Grenades, and bombs still don't look too good, but much better.

The AI all although, is fairly garbage. The AI has almost no skill when it comes to cover (this applies to all versions of Black Ops, not just Wii).

While I have to admit, the single-player was fun, we all know multi-player is better (at least when is come to Call of Duty). Oh, and it handles lag very well (and by that I mean, no lag).

We all enjoyed earning XP, and getting perks (probable one of the more addicting things), but now we have "CoD Points" - a virtual currency - which we can gamble via wager matches (four different types).

Oh, and remember Nazi Zombies from Call of Duty: World at War? Well, they make their Nintendo debut in Black-Ops!

Sadly, it does not support WiiSpeak (yet), although you can use a Wii Headbanger Headset (assuming you have one, or else you got to fork out $24.99)...

Also, unfortunately there is no split screen, but besides the the regular multi-player has goto be the best for Wii ever made!

Overall, while we think the game is great (especially online), we dislike the lack of WiiSpeak Support, and Split-Screen, but still, it has goto be the best Wii game we've played!

The Three State's Score: 8/10

To purchase, click on the respective picture below!

Call of Duty: Black OpsWii

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Site Logo coming soon

I have just finished making the logo for this site. Its not to fancy, but its pretty cool:P
Stay tuned for the logo!

Monday, November 15, 2010

L.A. Noire, Full Gameinformer Article

Hey everybody!, now since were against stealing other people/companies' articles, we won't retype the whole thing, just a quick quote and link, oh and those pictures (which you can click to pre-order!).

"No word better describes Rockstar Games. In the nine years since the release of its open-world crime epic Grand Theft Auto III, which stands among the most influential and successful games ever released, the company has used its GTA war chest in pursuit of games that few other companies in the industry would even attempt. From the brutal, violent stealth of the controversial Manhunt to the charming comic mischief of Bully, Rockstar continually digs deep into the history of pop culture and film for inspirations beyond the usual fantasy, military, and sci-fi clichés that fuel much of the industry’s output. 
 Despite courting controversy both outside the industry and within, it’s hard to argue with the results. The company’s games have exhibited enormous scope and unparalleled production values. When Rockstar offers you a chance to get a behind-the-scenes look into what they call their most ambitious title to date, you say yes. 
 Though L.A. Noire’s existence has been known for several years, facts about this title have been as hard to find as clues to the seedy murders that L.A. Noire’s protagonist, Cole Phelps, unravels throughout the course of the game. After seeing the game and the development process in action, it’s clear why the publisher has been so secretive. Team Bondi, the studio behind L.A. Noire, has set the bar almost impossibly high with this game. It’s not only creating the largest, most detailed open-world game to date, it’s attempting to resurrect the long-lost Los Angeles of the 1940s while adding an engaging new adventure-style investigation system to the familiar drive-and-shoot gameplay model. Oh, and along the way the company is pioneering some groundbreaking new technology that it hopes will forever change the way video games are made."
 -GameInformer
Full GameInformer article available at http://gameinformer.com/games/la_noire/b/xbox360/archive/2010/11/11/l-a-noire-preview.aspx?PostPageIndex=1
LA NoireLA Noire

Friday, November 12, 2010

Looking Forward for L.A. Noire?

Ya, sure not the world's most anticipated game, but still it's what we expect will be a great one! So here's the official trailer to what we think will be a great game! (oh and no, it's not black and white like the last trailer).
 

In case you're still wondering (for whatever reason), it's L.A. Noire by Rockstar Games.

LA NoireLA Noire

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Kinect Review

We won't lie, Kinect is a great idea, with a ton of potential. Although, as most of you know, we just can't wright a review based on the fact it has a "ton of potential". For now, Kinect isn't great, nor ready to be hailed the best thing to man kind, but perhaps in the future when Microsoft releases better games, or features for Kinect that'll change.

Surprisingly, something that we liked, was being able to navigate through the menus with it, wave your arm one direction, and the TV obeys your every command.

One thing we really liked though, was playing sports games. I personally found it a lot more fun to play games with Kinect, rather than playing it with a controller. It's more human to kick a soccer ball, then to flick a joystick to get it moving. Finally playing games like NHL 11 will finally make sense!

Besides that, this has goto be one of the most advanced pieces of hardware a gamer can get their hands on! (well until a gamer can buy a robot with artificial intelligence or a plane/rocket).

Something that boosts the Kinect is that, Kinect projects an infrared 3D box around you living room (or wherever you play your video games), and then tracks anything that moves, unlike the other leading motion controllers. It's so accurate it can sign you into your LIVE account, just by looking at your face! (Now even I goto admit that's pretty sweet!).

Although, on the downside, we did notice issues in certain lighting, but even that can be fixed with a simple calibration, and it also has pretty sweet voice recognition, allowing you to talk to your friends, even with static noises, like a near-by highway, or your friend breathing really heavily beside you.

But, like everything in life, there's a downside. Kinect requires a lot of room (6-feet square area minimum, with no furniture or people. This will mean you'll probably have to move your furniture each time you play it, as the "Move furniture if you need to" message during some loading screens recommends.

Also, shown by Kinects original line-up of games, and marketing tactics, this is clearly targeted towards family audiences (unlike Xbox's hardcore gamers), but then that leads to another problem, how could you play with your family if it only supports one person at a time? (Yes, some Kinect games are multi-player, provided you take turns).

Moving in connect is very accurate and all, but it most games which you would think should have very simple gestures, such as Kinect Adventures, requires you to bend your whole body, just to turn/steer your avatar, and than there's just the plain lack of (no) feedback, respectively no controller either, which may or may not be a good thing, depending who you are.

Our biggest concern with Kinect is, it's just plain laggy. Of course, not huge lag, but their's still enough lag to make games seem like crap rubbish. For example in Kinect Sports, try playing soccer, the lag forces you to anticipate every move ahead of time, which sort of wrecks the game, especially since it's a type of game you want to play by reacting rather then thinking.

So in summary, it's;
Pros are; it is genius, and will introduce a new breed of gamers, and is just amazing to watch, and play with.
Cons are; only one player at a time, laggy, requires a lot of room, often fails to match movement of players one-to-one, cost a lot, doesn't feel like it shows it's true potential.

The Three States rating; 4/10

Now we know, Xbox Fanboys (no offense intended), are probable going to point out how these issues are just minor compared to what it could achieve, but I'm like I said before, I'm not reviewing what it could achieve, but rather what it does achieve right now.

Feel free to comment bellow and give us your input! (please no abusive comments!)

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

The Most Anticipated Game of the Year is Out

Hey everybody!, the most anticipated game of the year is out today, Call of Duty: Black-Ops. Lots of people went to the midnight release, then skipped work/school to play it already, so ya... It is fairly anticipated!

Although it was much liked by many, others weren't to excited due to Treyarch's reputation with previous CoD games, although I'm sure they went and bought it too, if not today sometime soon.

Call of Duty: Black-Ops was released for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, PC, and Nintendo Wii.

It features a new currency feature, in addition to the old XP system. This allows you to buy upgrades that you choose by spending currency, rather then just earning set items at certain intervals. It also allows you to gamble the money in 'wager matches', which also happens to be a new feature that self explanatory.

Black-Ops also features enhanced customization, such as being able to design your own clan tag, then put it on your gun.

Black-Ops features many more things, although we won't go on forever and bore you...

P.S. - The also have a hardened and prestige edition.
Call of Duty: Black OpsCall of Duty: Black OpsCall of Duty: Black OpsCall of Duty: Black OpsCall of Duty: Black Ops
Call of Duty: Black Ops Hardened EditionCall of Duty: Black Ops Hardened Edition
Call of Duty: Black Ops Prestige EditionCall of Duty: Black Ops Prestige Edition