Harmonix and Viacom announced that Viacom will be selling Harmonix to "Harmonix-SBE Holdings LLC, an affiliate of Columbus Nova, LLC."
So what it boils down to is, Harmonix is buying itself! The sale price is still unknown, but how much would you pay for yourself, if you were successful (probably a lot).
Oh, and if you don't already know, Harmonix is the developer of Rock Band 3 and Series.
Here's the official announcement!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Harmonix Buys Harmonix!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
One More For Chrome! One Million For Charity!
You would of thought the Google Chrome community cared so much! Okay, sure the actual users didn't didn't donate money, but Google did!
All from Google, and it's Chrome community! 1+ Google!
So what exactly did the Google Chrome community do? They "donated" tabs to their choice of, trees, persons' water, shelter, vaccinations, or books! Sure tabs are just virtual and not any real currency (although that would be cool), they were used to allocate (or divide) money for the causes.
So what it boils down to is;
- $245,278 toward planting trees in the Atlantic Forest, one of the world's endangered tropical forests,
- $232,791 toward providing clean water, by building freshwater wells for communities in developing nations,
- $112,078 toward building shelter, to be constructed by volunteers for impoverished families in Latin America,
- $267,336 toward administering vaccinations against meningitis to combat outbreaks in Africa, and
- $142,518 toward publishing books by local writers and illustrators, which will be created and donated to schools and libraries across Asia and Africa.
Labels:
Charity,
Chrome Community,
GamerState,
Google,
Google Chrome
Life's Apptastic!
Are you getting an iPhone for Christmas? Or maybe sometime later? Do you want some "pay for apps"? Well then, check out this website we recently came across!
Now we all know apps become free once in a while as promotions. What the website basically does, is tells you when an app becomes free. This website also tells/shows you, original price, pictures of content, and links. Best of all, this premium service is free! Now while this isn't a game, we believe it still deserves a rating, so here it is!
The Three States rating; 8/10
This may just become your #1 online website! Either that, or the website we mentioned above...
Now we all know apps become free once in a while as promotions. What the website basically does, is tells you when an app becomes free. This website also tells/shows you, original price, pictures of content, and links. Best of all, this premium service is free! Now while this isn't a game, we believe it still deserves a rating, so here it is!
The Three States rating; 8/10
This may just become your #1 online website! Either that, or the website we mentioned above...
Labels:
Apple,
GamerState,
iPhone,
Reviews,
Website
Monday, December 6, 2010
New FaceBook Profiles
Hey everyone!, FaceBook has just release new profiles (currently optional upgrade), which to some of you may be bad or good. Here we will show you how to make the switch, and list pros and cons.
First, so you know what you're getting into (the is NO turning back!), we will list the pros/cons.
Pros;
Cons;
How to upgrade;
First, so you know what you're getting into (the is NO turning back!), we will list the pros/cons.
Pros;
- More visual appeal (depending on who you are),
- Smaller Font (once again depend who you are),
- More things will fit on profile,
- Supports more personal information,
- List colleagues, classmates, etc, and
- Can get more specific with your job (for example, current project).
Cons;
- There is NO turning back!,
- Constantly
nagsasks you for more information, - Harder to read due to smaller fonts,
- Less visual appeal (depending who you are), and
- Lots of thing are moved around.
How to upgrade;
- Watch the video on this website, it will help with transition (optional).
- Goto this website, then click "Get the New Profile" button.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Fire Place Channel
Are you a Bell TV customer? Are you in the Xmas spirit? Well, in addition to Galaxie's Traditional Holiday channel, Bell has yet again brought back "the fire place channel (285)!"
So to commemorate this, warming channel, we thought we would show you how to ditch the music for a real fire sound. While it's not much, it's something. First, goto the "FIRE" channel, 285, press the "menu" button on your Bell TV remote, select "Preferences" (or press 8), select "Alternate Audio" (or press 4), on the list of languages, near the bottom, select "Alternate", and then "done", and your done! Now you have a simulated fire place in your living room!
So to commemorate this, warming channel, we thought we would show you how to ditch the music for a real fire sound. While it's not much, it's something. First, goto the "FIRE" channel, 285, press the "menu" button on your Bell TV remote, select "Preferences" (or press 8), select "Alternate Audio" (or press 4), on the list of languages, near the bottom, select "Alternate", and then "done", and your done! Now you have a simulated fire place in your living room!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
The Africa Guy
Hey everyone!, one of our employees made a YouTube Account/Channel. Now it's not gaming, but it is made by one of our employees, so hey, check it out! http://www.youtube.com/user/TheAfricaGuy
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!
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!
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".
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.
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!)
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. |
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!
Labels:
GamerState,
Logical Illusions,
Optical Illusions
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.
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.
Labels:
Black Ops,
Call Of Duty,
GamerState,
PlayStatesNews,
XboxState
Oh $#!%! That's a Good Deal!
Canadian stores throughout, well, Canada, have great Black Friday deals! Here's just a few (from GameStop);
GameSpot;
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!
Labels:
Black Friday,
GamerState,
GameStop,
PlayStatesNews,
XboxState
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.
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.
Labels:
GamerState,
PlayStatesNews,
PlayStation Move
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).
- Start PlayStation Home.
- Wait, for the orange HDD activity light on front of PS3 to stop flashing.
- 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".
Labels:
GamerState,
PlayStatesNews,
PlayStation Home
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!
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!
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!
Stay tuned for the logo!
Labels:
GamerState,
LOGO,
PlayStatesNews,
The Three States Blog,
XboxState
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."
Full GameInformer article available at http://gameinformer.com/games/la_noire/b/xbox360/archive/2010/11/11/l-a-noire-preview.aspx?PostPageIndex=1-GameInformer
Labels:
GameInformer,
GamerState,
L.A. Noire,
PlayStatesNews,
XboxState
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.
In case you're still wondering (for whatever reason), it's L.A. Noire by Rockstar Games.
Labels:
GamerState,
L.A. Noire,
PlayStatesNews,
XboxState
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 likecrap 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!)
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
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!)
Labels:
GamerState,
Kinect,
PlayStatesNews,
Reviews,
XboxState
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.
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.
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