Gaming enthusiasts who have followed the continual advancements in technology no doubt remember the tremendous impact dedicated graphics processors had on PC gaming back when they debuted in the era of 3DFX and Matrox. Separating the heavy graphical lifting from the main computer processor to a separate graphics card allowed developers the push the limits of their products to create more and more realistic and therefore compelling entertainment software.

A similar revolution may be gaining in the PC gaming industry, this time promising to create far more realistic and breathtaking physics that will allow cloth to tear, water to splash, and wooden crates (every gamer’s arch nemesis) to shred under a hail of bullets.

You guessed it: a company called Ageia has created a stand-alone physics processing card called “PhysX” that handles the hardcore mathematical processing needed to create realistic physics in-game. Their premiere title for the card is called CellFactor, and it features are incredible array of objects that the player can manipulate with psychic faculties.

Check out a video after the jump!

Read the rest of this entry »

Unexpected news flew through the gaming community Monday, as we learned that the premier yearly video gaming event, E3, will undergo a seemingly radical downsizing. Announced by the ESA (Entertainment Software Association: Yeah, I’ve never heard of them either), this is supposedly a reaction to the tendency of gaming companies to save up their news and announcements, much akin to charging up that perfect plasma bolt, which they then unleashed on the games community each May.

I for one will morn the passage of E3, as the gaming community treated it as our own little holiday, a secret ceremony outside the coil of the greater consumer consciousness. I can see the point made by the ESA though, especially due to game companies habit of… “overstating” their looming products.

Even though I fully believe there will be an E3 next year, and there will most certainly be spectacle in tow, the conclusion that it will be lessened considerably seems unavoidable.

Rest in peace, sweet prince of an Expo.

Video Game history is littered with unbelievably poor titles that should have never seen the light of day. Typically, they are a result of some cross-promotional tie-in or a project that was rushed to market in an attempt to capitalize on a passing fad. Having been burned by a few of these woeful purchases in the past, it was with great joy that I watched the lambasting of Back to the Future on the NES. This game truly does scrape the barrel for the worst of the worst. Have a look if you don’t believe me.

Gametrailers.com recently ran this interesting look at what they are calling the Top Ten Video Game Weapons of All Time. While some of the choices and rankings may be a bit questionable, you have to give them credit for looking at the entire canon of videogames and not just the most recent first person shooters.