Yes!!!, HALO 3 is here

Ever since Halo 2 ended with Master Chief promising to "finish the fight" on earth, gamers have been waiting for a sequel to the epic sci fi shooter. The time has come, but has it been the worth the three year wait? Based on early reviews, the answer is a resounding yes--for both Halo veterans and newbies.

Some background for the latter. Halo 3, for Microsoft Xbox 360 only, stars Master Chief, a genetically enhanced super soldier who uses plasma rays and other futuristic weapons to blast his way through a 3D landscape and accomplish missions. His nemesis, a shadowy outfit called The Covenant, attempts to blow him and all of humanity out of existence at every turn. The game was created by Bungie Studios and is published by Microsoft. It went on sale at midnight the 25th of september. Based on early reviews in the media and on blogs, Halo 3 fans are not going to be disappointed.

Halo 3 can be completed in just ten hours with the difficulty level set to "Normal" in single-player mode, But the game realy shines when played in multiplayer mode on Xbox Live. Bungie tuned the multi-player game like a fine grand piano, with well-balanced weapons and smartly designed maps. which for many gamers is what it's all about. The environment around you is much prettier than earlier Halo titles, taking advantage of the Xbox 360's high-definition capabilities. gamers will benefit from enhancements in key areas, like artificial intelligence. Enemies seem smarter, darting into and out of cover with frightening alacrity, and tending to advance using cover while moving at right angles instead of bum-rushing carelessly.

Bloggers at Team Xbox call Halo 3 "the best Xbox 360 game to date." The game is very accessible and spells out what's going on just enough to make it entertaining for even casual fans.

So there it is. The early reviews for Halo 3 are overwhelmingly positive. Of course, gamers who don't want to take anyone else's word for it can get their own Halo 3. retailers will be selling copies of the game for about $60.00

All hail Master Chief!

Have We Finally Caught Up To The Jetsons?

Paul Moller has been featured on CBS 60 Minutes, the Discovery Channel and numerous other broadcasts as the man bringing us closer in touch with the cartoon of our childhoods. Who remembers watching the "Jetsons" and daydreaming about how cool it would be if your family had a flying car? Well Paul Moller must have really liked that cartoon because he has spent the few decades of his life trying to make his dreams come true. After fourty years of development,"Dr. Paul Moller, announced recently that production would begin on the company's M200G volantor, a UFO-esque hovercraft that apparently can 'glide over terrain at 50 MPH.' " Unfortunately with a price tag of $1million, I don't see this as being the popular commuting trend anytime soon.

There are many sceptics as to whether Mr. Moller will actually be able to bring the 'Skycar' into production, as he has said it was only a few years away for the past 30 years. However, maybe this is just a case of technology having to catch up to innovation. Even if Moller had been able to produce and market the 'Skycar' decades ago, there would have been no way to manage personal flying machines until just recently. NASA has recently been working on a computer system that could potentially make these machines a reality. It can make flying easy and manage all the new traffic. "It is called, 'The Highway in the Sky', and here's how it works: In a NASA animation, pilots focus on main screen. It's very much like a Video game. (YEAH!!!) Keep the plane inside the box, away from other vehicles, and the plane's computers automatically guide them towards their destination. They can even follow the highway down to the ground." Gamers be warned: YOU ARE NO LONGER PLAYING A GAME, SHOOTING SHIPS IN FRONT OF YOU IS NOT ACCEPTABLE AND NO POINTS WILL BE REWARDED.

So when I win I the Lotto and can afford to get a flying car, I'll let you know how it rides. However, since it only hovers around 10 feet max. right now, I hope it comes with a horn.

“Music and Video Games, Ahhh Sweet Symphony”

The anticipation for the latest in the Guitar Hero Series, Guitar Hero III Legend of Rock, due to be released 10/28/07 is building. We can only hope that the first of the series not designed by Harmonix Music Systems can live up to its predecessors. Developed by Harmonix and Published by RedOctane the original Guitar Hero, released on 11/8/05, took music and rhythm video games to a new level by incorporating an easy to use guitar shaped controller. This controller gives the player the feel of holding a real guitar (3/4 the size) and playing along with the music by pressing fret buttons and a strum bar to color coded notes that scroll toward you on screen from an extended guitar neck.

All of the games in the series consist of pretty much the same basic gaming experience, (Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero II, Guitar Hero Encore Rocks the 80’s and Guitar Hero III Legend of Rock). There are four levels of difficulty; easy, medium, hard, and expert. This makes it a little easier to learn and progress and the control can accommodate right and left-handed players. You and your audience can watch your character (well not you because your playing) jam out on stage when you activate the “Star Power” by tilting your guitar upwards. When in “star power” your score multiplier is doubled. You also have a rock meter which gauges your success or failure of a song with a red, yellow, green scale. Green your good, red your probably about to get booed off stage. They do boo you, but hey at least they can’t throw stuff. “Guitar Hero’s main mode of play is Career Mode, where the player and in-game band travel between various fictional performance arenas and perform sets of four or five songs. It is by completing songs in this mode that the songs are unlocked for play across the game. Players can choose their on-stage character, their guitar of choice, and the venue in which they wish to play. In this mode the player can earn money from his/her performances that is redeemable in the in-game store, where bonus songs, additional guitars and finishes, and bonus content can be unlocked.” This is consistent with all versions, including the upcoming Guitar Hero III as is the quick play mode, where you can just pick out individual songs and not have to go on tour. In Guitar Hero II a practice mode was added and this was much welcomed by some players. It gives you the chance to practice full songs or just sections and you can also change the speed.

The Multiplayer mode has varied a little. The original version offers a two player dueling mode. There are two fret boards on screen and you take turns playing sections of a song. The player with the highest score wins. Guitar HeroII offers three different multiplayer modes:

• Cooperative-“One player plays lead guitar while another plays either bass guitar or rhythm guitar, depending on the song. Both players share a score, rock meter, star power meter, and streak multiplier. Cooperative mode is the only multiplayer mode in which a song can be failed. Star power can only be activated by both players simultaneously”

• Face-Off –“This is the same multiplayer mode as featured in the original game, though in Guitar Hero II both players can individually select their level of difficulty. In this mode, players alternate between playing sections of each song. "

• Pro Face-Off- "Players play the full lead guitar track on the same difficulty. For the PlayStation2 mode, this is available upon completion of any career level, while for the XB360 version, the mode is unlocked after completing the career mode at medium or higher."

Guitar Hero III is supposed to contain the same multiplayer modes along with the new Battle Mode. It is similar to the Pro-Face-Off mode, however, in battle mode the star power sequences can ear attacks to be used against your opponent. Unlike earlier versions, Guitar Hero III is the first to feature online competitive and cooperative playing for the multiplayer modes.

I have not mentioned Guitar Hero Encore Rock the 80’s much, because the only real difference between and Guitar Hero II is the songs, the characters clothing and hairstyles. This was the third and final title developed by Harmonix and was more of an extension pack.

The original Guitar Hero was only available for Play Station 2. Guitar Hero II was released for PlayStation2 in November of 2006 and for XBOX 360 in April of 2007. Guitar Hero Encore Rock the 80’s was release only for PlayStation2 in July 2007. The basic song lists are the same for both platforms however the XBOX360 version was released with ten exclusive songs and you can purchase additional song packs through XBOX Live. The Guitar Hero III developed by Neversoft, will supposedly be available on PlayStation2, PlayStation3, XBOX 360, Wii, PC, and Mac. The anticipation of the Wii version is mounting because of the way the Wii’s remote control style game controller will be placed in the guitar, adding a unique gaming experience because of the rumble feature and internal speaker.
A new exciting feature of Guitar Hero III will be the character cast. Some of the original characters have been remodeled, some are gone and some are so famous you can only use them after you beat them. Supposedly there will be three boss battles in the game. The talk is that Slash from Guns N’ Roses, Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine and Bret Michaels from Poison are all featured as game characters. But to use any of these Rockers you’ll have to beat them at their own songs. Not long after the initial release song packs should be available for the PlayStation 3 and XBOX 360 formats. Apparently downloads for Wii might not me available right away. Wireless controllers will be available for all formats. A CD of the Guitar Hero III Soundtrack will also be released 10/30/07 that will apparently contain special codes that can be used to download additional songs within the game, only for the XBOX 360 version.

I’m gonna be going for the XBOX 360 version of Guitar Hero III and I can’t wait to rock. I just hope that Neversoft, the developers of Guitar Hero III can ROCK THE HOUSE like their forerunners.

Control your TV with just a thought.

Have you ever thought," wouldn't it be cool if i could change the channel just by thinking about it?" well pretty soon you may well be able to.

The "brain-machine interface" developed by Hitachi inc. is the first step. It analyzes slight changes in the brain's blood flow and translates brain motion into electric signals.

Hitachi's scientists are set to develop a brain TV controller letting users turn a TV on and off or switch channels by only thinking. The technology could one day replace remote controls and keyboards.

One advantage to Hitachi's technology is that sensors don't have to physically enter the brain. Earlier technologies developed by U.S. companies like Neural Signals Inc. required implanting a chip under the skull.

Hitachi Inc. is already testing the device by making a model train run just by the persons thoughts. One of the first problems facing the company is the size of the headband, even though there is a prototype compact version, It still weighs a whopping 2 LBS.

This looks like its going to be a great new tech toy, and I for one can't wait for the day I can flip through the channels on my TV without having to look for that darn remote.

The IPhone

OK, so its here. The new ultimate tech toy, the IPhone. Sure, its one of the greatest toys that has come out in a while, but at $399 is it worth it?

well i guess its something that each of us will have to decide on our own. So to help you do that the following are some pros and cons to owning one.

The pros video

video review

So Final Thoughts, This is one great piece of technology, and if i had $399 I would definitely get one.

Welcome to New Tech Toys

Hello everybody,

First of all , I would like to thank you for visiting my blog. It is my first attempt at blogging, so any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

This will be, as you may have figured out by the title, a blog dedicated to New Technology that is about to or has recently come out. I will mostly be writing about gadgets, phones, cameras, and overall stuff that will be fun to use and play with, thus the Toy part of the title. Of course, I will also be taking suggestions on any particular items of interest to the readers.

So, once again thanks for stopping by, and i hope you'll visit again.