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Kilobits: The Talon’s Technology and Video Gaming Column

PAVAN RAJAM

TECHNOLOGY AND GAMING CORRESPONDENT

0KB-A Note from the writer:

Hello SVHS and welcome to the Talon’s first ever column dedicated to all things Gaming and Tech, where everything related to Video Games and Consumer Electronics can be found. In this inaugural issue, you’ll find the lowdown on one of the hottest games to be released on the Xbox 360 in the next months, a release list for a few noteworthy games that will come out in the near future, why you will and won’t want the new Apple iPhone and whether or not you really need the copy of Windows Vista right away. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, send us an e-mail at kilobitsmailbag@yahoo.com.

1KB-The end of the Drought is neigh…

Anyone who is familiar with the Video Game industry knows what this Subtitle is referring to. The First Quarter Drought is a phrase which refers to the first few months of the year when there are hardly any new games released, a stark contrast to the 4^th quarter of the year when publishers release games with such frequency and magnitude that many good Games (Ubisoft’s Beyond Good and Evil comes to mind) get ignored by the general public This year’s drought has been particularly bad on the PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii (No, you still can’t walk into a store and buy one or get a DS Lite. What’s up with that Nintendo?). The only notable upcoming release for the PS3 is Virtua Fighter 5 (also to be on the 360 this August) since MotorStorm has been delayed to March, while the Wii gets an original Sonic game (hopefully SEGA doesn’t mess it up again), SSX Blur, Wii Play, a compilation game in the vein of Wii Sports and is bundled with an extra Wii Remote, as well as Wario Ware Smooth Moves, available now. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is in a much to maintain its lead over the Wii and PS3 with titles like NBA Street Homecourt, and the much anticipated Crackdown.

Game	Platform	Release date	Comments
Crackdown	Xbox 360	02/20	Another stellar title for the 360, that’s worth buying.
Wii Play	Wii	02/14	The game is rather boring on its own, but there’s added value with the bundled Wiimote. Buy it for the Wiimote, and think of the games as an added bonus.
Sonic and the Secret Rings	Wii	02/20	A return to what made Sonic great: speed. The real question is whether SEGA hasn’t messed this one up like the last few Sonic games. Wait and see what the reviews say.
Virtua Fighter 5	PlayStation 3	02/20	The first 3d Fighting Game Series makes its Next-Gen debut. Worth a buy if you have a PS3.

2KB-Crackdown = Insane Fun

By Pavan Rajam

Crackdown is bound to draw unfair comparisons to the Grand Theft Auto Series. ( An ironic comparison, given that one of GTA’s creator, David Jones is one of the lead designers on the game). A more accurate comparison would be with games like Spider-Man 2 and The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. In Crackdown, you play as a genetically advanced police officer in the future who needs to go and clean up the streets of the generically titled Pacific City. It’s a sandbox game, like GTA, where you can go anywhere in the City and interact with the Environment. There are 5 different skills and abilities, you increase in: Driving, Firearms, Explosives, Agility, and Strength, and there’s lots of fun to be had as you level up. The process of Leveling up is one of the game’s strong points, in that as you do activities pertinent to each skill. For example, if you beat up gang members without any guns, your Strength increases. In terms of graphical quality, the game’s Comic Book art style plays to its favor. The textures are very flat in terms of color and thus allow the game to render the entire city in real time. It may not be Gears of War awesome, but they are still good.

The Bottom Line: Crackdown is looking awesome and is definitely going to be the 360 game everyone will be talking about when it comes out on the 20th

Still not sure or convinced? Check out the demo on the Xbox Live Marketplace and send us an email with your thoughts.

3KB-5 Reasons why you will want the Apple iPhone

1) It’s a slick, and small phone.

2)It doubles as a widescreen iPod.

3) It can surf the Web via WiFi.

4) It has a nice camera. At least better than the one on your RAZR or that free phone you got from your parents when they bought a RAZR for themselves.

5) It’s made by Apple. Ease of Use and Elegant design are guranteed.

3.5KB-5 Reasons why you won’t want the Apple iPhone

1) The Price. With a starting price tag of $499, you may want to wait for a price drop, or spend your money on something else.

2) You already have an iPod, and a phone. Pretty much everyone and their mom has an iPod and a cell phone, and convergence devices don’t have a good track record.

3) No 3G wireless support.

4) The touchscreen only interface.

5) You and/or your Parents don’t want to switch over to Cingular.

4KB-Is Vista Worth it?

After Numerous Delays, the latest version of the Windows Operating System, Windows Vista has been released by Microsoft. It will be available in four versions at retail; Home, Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate, with prices ranging from $199 - $399 retail, or $99-$259, if you’re upgrading from a previous iteration of Windows. Is it worth buying Vista for your current computer? As of right now, the answer is No. The main issue as of right now is compatibility. You don’t really know if the applications that you’re running will be supported by Vista. For all of you iPod users, Apple has stated that there have been some issues with iTunes running on Vista PC’s. There probably aren’t any new features which you may really want, and if there are some, they may not justify going through the guts of your PC to meet the system requirements.

The Bottom Line: While Windows Vista is a much needed update to XP, it’s not imperative that you go and buy. XP will be supported for a few more years and should keep you going until you decide to buy a new PC that already has Vista on it. But if you’re still running Windows 98, or Windows 2000 or ME, seriously, get with the times and go buy a new PC.