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10 Unbelievable Videogame Stories

1. The man who sued a video game maker over addiction

A man in Hawaii is suing a video game developer saying that the game Lineage II was so addictive that he is unable to bathe, dress himself, communicate with others and wake-up during the day. 51-year-old Craig Smallwood is suing South Korean video game firm NCSoft Corp. for a number of charges including unfair and deceptive trade practices and accuses the company of causing "extreme and serious emotional distress and depression."

He says the multi-player, online role-playing game made him spend three weeks in the hospital and that he currently requires therapy three times a week. The paper reports that earlier this month a judge dismissed charges of misrepresentation/deceit, unfair and deceptive trade practices, intentional infliction of emotional distress and punitive damages.

However, the company still faces charges of defamation, negligence, gross negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Smallwood claims that he spent more than 20,000 hours playing the medieval-themed role-playing game from 2004 to 2009 and that he received no warning from the company that the game could be addictive.

(Link)

2. The toddlers who were found in street while their father was playing a computer game

Indianapolis police arrested a 31-year-old father of two after finding his children, one naked and one wearing only a diaper, wandering the streets as he played a computer game.
Timothy Hausaman's two children were discovered wandering around the apartment complex in which they lived near a busy road Saturday night. A neighbor kept an eye on the children for 20 minutes before calling police. When officers arrived at Hausaman's apartment they found the door open. No one responded to the door so they went inside and found the father playing Atlantis on his laptop.

The man told police that he left his children downstairs to play and was so into his game he had no idea they had left the apartment. Hausaman told police during his arrest that, "I am obviously not very good at watching children". His wife was away on business during the incident. (Link | Via 1 | Via 2)

3. The mother who called the cops to stop son from playing Grand Theft Auto

Police say a frustrated Boston woman called police to say she couldn't get her 14-year-old son to stop playing video games and go to sleep. Officer Joe Zanol said that the mother called for help around 2:30am to say that the teenager also walked around the house and turned on all the lights. Surprisingly, her call actually worked, as two officers who responded to the house persuaded the child to obey his mother.

Zanoli says the mother's police call over the teen's video game enthusiasm 'was a little unusual, but by no means is it surprising - especially in today's day and age when these kids play video games and computer games.' According to The Boston Herald, who first reported the police call, the boy was playing 'Grand Theft Auto' (although they don't report which entry in the GTA series had so grabbed the boy's attention.) (Link)

4. The gamer who flipped because his girlfriend 'stood in front of TV'

A gamer beat up his girlfriend after she killed off his character by standing in front of the TV. Police arrested Isac Benjamin Pettinger, 21, of Des Moines in the US, on charges of domestic abuse with injury, false imprisonment and obstruction of emergency communications. His girlfriend, Lacey Proctor, 20, has made a request for a no-contact order against him.
Police said it all started with a video game. According to Proctor, she stood in front of Pettinger, blocking his view of the screen. At that point Pettinger's video game character died and he became very angry. He allegedly punched her in the side of the head. She ran to a bathroom but he then allegedly attacked her again, beating her head against a wall. When she tried to call for help, he grabbed the phone and disconnected it.

(Link)

5. The man who shipped himself across country playing MMO

Have you ever wished you could shut yourself off from the world so you could catch up on playing video games? Jordan Wayne Long has taken this thought to the next level shipping himself from Arkansas to Oregon in a crate while playing Lord of The Rings Online. Long's friend Bradi Roberts would be transporting him on her truck, so he wouldn't be going through any kind of actual postal system, nor have to sign up for an Amazon credit card in order to get free shipping. Long planded to update the interested masses via his Twitter and also created a blog to cover his week of playing LOTRO in a box, which should barely be any different from playing it in his room. I kid, MMO gamers, because I love. Long's experiment was planned to take place between July 1 to July 7, and end at a Portland art gallery. (Link | Via)

6. The man who was hit by SUV while playing real-life 'Frogger'

A man has been hospitalized after police in South Carolina say he was hit by an SUV while playing a real-life version of the video game "Frogger." In the "Frogger" arcade game, players move frogs through traffic on a busy road and through a hazard-filled river. Before he was hit, police say the man had been discussing the game with his friends. Chief Jimmy Dixon says the man yelled "go" and darted into oncoming traffic in the four-lane highway.

No charges are expected against the driver. The name of the man who was struck has not been released. (Link)

7. The teenager who survived 10-inch knife through skull after video game row

A teenager gave medics a surprise when he walked into casualty with a 10-inch knife stuck right through in his skull - after a row over computer games. Xiao Wei, 16, was attacked when he fell out with a gang of thugs at an internet cafe he worked at in Mishazi, northeast China, after clocking up a high score on his favourite game, Counter Strike. He was left with a razor sharp kitchen knife plunged through his left temple and the half-inch tip of the blade emerging from his right temple.

Amazed medics watched him stagger into casualty at the 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University, being held up by his pals. But surgeons - who took two hours to remove the blade - say Wei is likely to make a full recovery.

Pal Huang Shen, 18, says he and Wei were attacked when a local gang tried to force Wei to load some unauthorised software onto the cafe's computers. Police are now examining surveillance camera footage of the attack. (Link)

8. The 3 gamers who played for 50 hours setting a new World record

David Dino has his priorities straight. He just set a whole slew of world records for playing video games and knows just where he's going to put the official certificate from Guinness World Records. "I'll put it right next to my master's degree," Dino said, just moments after he and two other elite gamers, Sean Crowley and Lauren Guiliano, spent 50 hours and one minute gaming at the PlayStation Lounge at the Sony Style Store in New York City.

David Dino, Sean Crowley and Lauren Guiliano have collectively set five Guinness World Records for gaming, a feat that took 50 hours and one minute to complete. The event was partially intended to promote both a new Guinness book, "Guinness World Records 2011 Gamer's Edition," and a new Sony PlayStation game, "Little Big Planet 2," so, consequently, the record attempts were geared in that regard.

That's why the records set include one specifically for the Longest Marathon Playing "Little Big Planet 2" (50 hours, one minute), as well as less obviously promotional records such as Longest Marathon Playing a Platform Video Game (also 50 hours, one minute); Most Video Game Genres Played in One Video Game in 24 Hours (38); Most User-Generated Video Game Levels Played in 24 Hours (272); and Most User-Generated Video Game Levels Played in a Marathon (586). (Link)

9. The man who hacked a videogame to propose to his girlfriend

Knowing your girlfriend's favorite hobbies is a great start for planning a proposal. For Bernie Peng, that meant using the game 'Bejeweled' to ask Tammy Li to marry him. Peng, a financial software programmer, spent a month tweaking the game so when Li reached a certain score, a ring and the proposal popped up on the screen.

According to Li, he set a pretty low score; she is now sporting an identical pink sapphire engagement ring. The game manufacturer eventually heard about the story. Instead of being angry that Peng had hacked into their game, company officials were so impressed they offered to pay for part of the wedding. (Link)

10. The FarmVille user who was hit with £900 bill playing the popular Facebook game

A 12-year-old boy obsessed with FarmVille blew a whopping £625 of his mother's money and £288 of his own playing the popular Facebook game. Needless to say, his costly online horseplay didn't go down very well at all.

FarmVille involves managing a farm and tending to all the crops and animals on it. It's funded by free 'virtual coins' – but users can buy extra coins using real money if they're desperate to improve their farm more quickly. It was doing this – a lot – that resulted in the young farmer racking up huge debt using his mum's credit card. His mother, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: 'The first use of my card was on 14 March. I discovered it on the 29th and the card was stopped at that point. Any transactions after that date were already in the system, so what I thought was a £427 spend turned into £625 over the next few days.The total spend is about £905, but the credits are still rolling in. Facebook and game creator Zynga will not refund anything as my son lives in my house. Facebook has disabled his account and Zynga has unhelpfully suggested I use password protection on computers in the future. '

This boy is certainly not the first to get in hot water over the game – and he probably won't be the last. Recently Bulgarian councillor Dimitar Kerin, a member of the Plovdiv Municipal Committee, was removed from a key committee because he couldn't resist milking his FarmVille cows during important meetings. (Link)

under : games, video games, unbelievable, facts, stories

Most Expensive Games Ever Made

We all know that Video games are quickly approaching Hollywood movies and other industries in terms of budget size. In the beggining of 90s, video game budgets were around $100,000 (Maximum) — when Doom was released in 1993 it had cost $200,000 and was declared as one of the most expensive games at the time. Today, that barely covers just one month worth of production.

  

1. Grand Theft Auto 4: $100 million  

When it comes to sheer production values, quality,sheer amount of best features, the details, no game till now beats Grand Theft Auto 4. The scope of the production dwarfs any other game: over 1,000 people worked on the game for over 3 and a half years, doing everything from studying New York city with cameras that recorded city traffic for months, to contacting over 2,000 people just to obtain the rights to the hundreds of music tracks that can be listened to in the game. Price to record a master for each track ran at around $10,000 and that excludes the license and royalty fees. There’s enough content in the game to keep the average gamer immersed for at least 100 hours. There should be, game  with a budget of $100 million, GTA 4 is the most expensive video game ever made.

2. Gran Turismo 5: $80 million

Gran Turismo has been in development for over five years now, and features over 1,000 cars, each painstakingly recreated for extreme realism (and perfection). Its official budget as of mid 2008 was $60 million, and two years later when the game hits the stores, it will reach a staggering $80 million, making it the second most expensive game in history.

3. Shenmue, $70 million

It's a game that held the record as most expensive game ever for 10 years. Shenmue’s budget was unheard of at the time of its development — a $70 million budget for a SEGA Dreamcast game. Shenmue offered a vast and explorable area, a complete weather system, and so many fine details and features that games even today don’t have. 

4. Too Human, $60+ million

Too Human faced many issues during its development time, chief of which was the long and expensive struggle between Epic Games and the Unreal Engine 3, where developer Silicon Knights abandoned the engine and started making their own — at a time when the game was almost complete. This added at least another $10 million to the budget, according to some sources.

5. Metal Gear Solid 4, $60 million

The biggest, pretties and most complex Metal Gear Solid game, one with hours and hours of cut scenes, amazing production values and one of the best visuals at its time, Metal Gear Solid 4 took 4 full years to make, at a price tag of $60 million, shared between Kojima Producitons and Sony.

source : http://www.gamerzpedia.com/2011/07/most-expensive-games-ever-made.html
under : Games, Most, Top Five, Top 5, Expensive, Most Expensive, Ever

Top 10 Best games of 80s

We did a tour for the best games on PC for the 80’s, we dive into the circuitry of our PCs to talk about the great games that shook our keyboards. Because a computer is almost like a family member. He lights our mother to check your mails no matter the existence of millions of viruses, also our brother, who spends listening to music like a stereo, why not our father who has no idea how to use the mouse and Finally we take care of us as if our son. For those who feel that loyalty is innate and entertainment center of our home work, PCGameTrek is pleased to present the list of top 10 PC games of the 80’s.
10) Digger PC Game (Windmill Software Inc. - 1983):

A dig for treasure! Some accuse him of being a copy of Bomberman and more of an arcade game called Mr. Do those years, but we can not deny they amused us many hours. Perhaps we think that is inspired by the intrepid Unabomber, but we all know the phrase … It’s all invented! Buried alive, we should tell our hero the right direction in search of the lost jewels underground. Always in vertical or horizontal will be faster than our enemies in this fierce struggle for our survival. It will be time to put at risk our life … For a handful of gold coins!
9) World Cup Carnival PC Game (Artic Software - 1986): The most beautiful sport in the world. A soccer nostalgia overcomes me as I write this lines. Maybe it’s because 2010 is the year of the World Cup, perhaps because my best goals there and became a real stadium, do not know. The important thing is that this carnival of emotions was a dizzying and fun title. With teams made up of seven players (quite similar) gave us a good dose of passion game crowds. Next came a whole series of simulations to be confused with reality if one is unaware (Cristiano Ronaldo Is that really a doll or Winning Eleven? Ah, are the same!). The best team the world cup would rise by an entire country happy. One question … So much for the World Cup?
8 ) Commando PC Game Review (Capcom - 1985): One man against an entire army! Multi-platform game where a vertical scroll not let us send bloodthirsty enemies, Commando was a constant shooting we enjoyed from the first frame to last. A helicopter threw us to the jungle and fought us to our fate. Almost a metaphor for human existence … We are alone against the world! Super Joe was a genuine war hero with a simple machine gun (unlimited ammunition, thankfully) with whom he could point to eight different sides and a small shipment of grenades that could only be thrown forward, but had the ability entire groups of soldiers to kill rivals. Pursue that officer coward who runs away in fear!
7) Fahrenheit 451 (PC Review) (Telarium - 1986): The future arrived (long ago). The marginals are prohibited from reading books. They make you think, give you wings to fly to freedom. Only a low flame burning an authoritarian world does not lose its power. The reason to include Fahrenheit 451 here goes beyond being yet another recognition (another) literary genius Ray Bradbury. The main reason is that this title of adventure, using mechanisms already known and developed before in games like Adventure, was recognized by the creator of this futuristic universe as a possible sequel to his book. With quality and respect, is considered one of the best adaptations. Congratulations.
6) One on one (Electronic Arts - 1983): The genius of basketball. Two great athletes such as Larry Bird and Dr. Julius Ervin deserved a game exclusively for them. A battle with an area of combat was half basketball court. With referee and penalties that forced us to comply with the regulations, our stars would look stunning with double and triple and magical quality. Against another person or against the same machine, One on one was a game in which the challenges were on the agenda. Limited by time or by the amount of the line, someone should be the winner of this competition. Absolutely everyone who played the title we looked forward to the ring explodes into a thousand pieces, for a man to come and sweep the remains of our great dunk. Strip for three … and scores!
5) Friday the 13th PC Game (Domark - 1985): One day you’ll never forget. When performed the list of the best games of movies, Friday the 13th was just outside and this is the opportunity to give him the recognition he deserves. The writer of this note acknowledges that trembled with fear in front of the screen watching his brother opened doors in terror of being a surprise. These sounds awesome, these screens full of blood … Where is he? What is there in this dark place? Who will be left alive in this story? A bunch of innocent and colorful graphics they could freeze your blood with horror. Better let’s stay home when we depart the calendar on Friday the 13th.
4) SimCity PC Game Review (Maxis - 1989): The entire society in our PC’s world strategy game had a before and after since the genius Will Wright offered us this work of art social simulation. The first of a franchise, bringing the genre to a level of excellence then we would like SimCopter profile titles, and jewelry SimFarm The Sims and Spore, SimCity is a key link in the evolutionary chain of PC games. How to manage the resources of entire populations? What trade deals would help the development of urban areas that are under my domain? Do we need more services and supplies? More areas for residential, commercial or industrial? What do my attendees? Strategic planning at its best.
3) Where is Carmen Sandiego? (Broderbund Software - 1983): The mystery woman has aroma. The most sexy and elusive thief of all time challenged us to find somewhere in the world by testing our knowledge of general culture. “Which country’s flag was red, yellow and green? “Where the hell is Reykjavik? Geography and history first, then math and English were the issues that we know to be at the height of the conflict. Gathering clues to obtain a warrant before the time we finished it was our mission. One false step and all our work turned in vain. Then transformed into a villain and cartoon adventures that took her to the literary world. Do not be seduced by it (sure you are stealing something.)
2) Maniac Mansion (Lucasfilm - 1987): The mansion of the mad cute. The company now renamed LucasArts gave us many of the best digital works of all time. Maniac Mansion is one of the three best games of the 80s, no doubt, because it is impossible for a simple point and click like this, generates so much of feelings. Humor, suspense, unique characters (some scary), and different endings to form a graphic adventure father of all others that came later in search of glory. And that’s not even mention his brilliant sequel to Day of the Tentacle, a second part so very, very espcetacular as it was Terminator 2 or Godfather 2 for their first party. Thanks for so many joys and secrets of a story impossible to forget.
1) Prince of Persia PC Game(Brøderbund Software - 1989):

The Sultan who knows how to jump. Using a process called rotoscoping, Mechner Jordan captured the movements of his brother dressed in white. This brought us almost an anatomy lesson in a key title for the platform genre. I know people who do not know what I mean when you named the Prince of Persia. A game whose first title was simply glorious. Traps, cornices, enemies with swords, a whole scene fraught with dangers that challenged us at every step. Its fluid animation became the basis for the motion capture, technical resource that remains today. The first milestone of the 80 who left forever trembling capacitors and chips from our household computers. Now we have the 2010 version of Prince of Persia PC Game.

source: http://www.pcgametrek.com/top-10-best-games-of-80s/

Sexiest Video Games Characters Ever

List of the hottest and the Sexiest Video Game Girls Ever that drove the male-centric gaming audience crazy over the years.

1.Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend  

Recognized in the Guinness World Record as the most successful human video game heroine, Lara's famous bust size was created originally by accident, and the designers decided to keep it since it gathered attention of fellow programmers.

2. Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Underworld

In the latest Tomb Raider game, Underworld, the sexy gymnast/model Alison Carroll has become the new Lara Croft.

3. Joanna Dark Perfect Dark Zero

Employed by the Carrington Institute, Joanna is an elite mercenary who specializes in industrial espionage. Her code name "Perfect Dark" is in honor of her flawless performance in training tests.

4. Cate Archer No One Lives Forever 2

In the sequel to No One Lives Forever, Cate sports a sexier hairstyle and fashion style. Although it is not known which model this Cate is based on.

5. Sarah Morrison Tabula Rasa

The female hero featured in the intro video and boxshot of Tabula Rasa. She was also featured in a special digital women edition of Playboy.

6. Chrstie Monteiro Tekken 6

Chrstie Monteiro the granddaughter of Eddy Gordo's master.Christie has quite a substantial fanbase. Some fans consider her to be an excellent addition to the cast, adding sex appeal to the series, as well as light-heartedness to largely-somber cast.

7. Fang Final Fantasy XIII

She is described as a strong woman with many mysteries. Driven by her personal agenda, Fang aims to complete her Focus in hopes of saving her friend

8. Lulu Final Fantasy X

Lulu is a 20-year old black mage and grew up with Wakka, Yuna and Chappu. She is also highly intelligent is one of the few Yevonites that openly questions the Yevon religion.

9. Jill Valentine Resident Evil

Too clunky in the original Playstation game to make this list, the GameCube remake of the original brings Jill out of her shell and into a new sexy outfit.

10. Elika Prince of Persia

Elika is a deadly ally, and a vital asset to the Prince as he fights off the Corruption. She provides him with support in combat, platforming, and puzzle solving.

source : gamespedia.com under  video game reviews, Games, Asian Beautiful, Facts, Unique, Sexiest

Top 10 Positively Portrayed Female Game Characters

Let’s face it: female video game characters are not often praised for their mettle. Indeed, you’re far more likely to find lists about the top ten most sexy female video game characters, than those who can kick ass. Countless odes to boob physics aside, I thought I’d attempt to ascertain some of the more positively portrayed female characters in video gaming today, those with substance, who might hold the title of role model, as opposed to the far more frequent walking pair of breasts (naming no names, of course). Without further ado, then, here come the girls.

10. Zelda/Sheik (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time)

Zelda has come a long way since her first appearance in the series (and, of course, it’s hard to forget the fact that all the games are named after her and not their protagonist, Link). Ocarina of Time saw quite a change of tack for Zelda, who had previously appeared to be somewhat of a typical damsel in distress type. Assuming the apparently male disguise of Sheik (a surviving member of the Sheikah clan) she was completely unrecognizable, helping an otherwise completely oblivious Link. Another disguise of Zelda’s, Tetra, also went against the pretty, pretty princess stereotype, she being a feisty young pirate who, once again, proves invaluable in aiding Link in his adventures.

9. April Ryan (The Longest Journey)

Despite first being seen in a dream in her underwear (as low quality as the graphics might have been back then), April is a largely positive and realistically portrayed character, overall. A normal art student suddenly dragged into the fantasy world of Arcadia, her sarcastic observations help pick up the pace of the sometimes slow point and click adventure (although this is a common symptom of most examples of the genre). However, in the The Longest Journey’s sequel Dreamfall, April suddenly becomes almost excessively sullen and moody (I mean, she renames herself Raven, for Mary Sue’s sake), the character losing a good portion of her original likability as a result.

8. Hildegard von Krone (Soul Calibur IV)

Hilde is one of the incredibly rare (largely) non-sexualized female characters in the Soul series. Brave, strong and honorable, she goes to great lengths to uphold her family name. The armor she wears is actually practical, and even her alternate outfit – a somewhat less practical dress – is both decent and elegant. Interestingly, director Katsutoshi Sasaki described Hilde as the “most alluring” female character in the game, which I suppose just goes to show that having all the goods on display isn’t the only way to create sex appeal (that, or he got bored with all the breasts).

7. Lara Croft (Tomb Raider)

I have mixed feelings about Miss Croft. On the one hand, she was, arguably, one of the very first big female heroines. On the other, she soon became highly sexualized, appearing in various states of undress in many contemporary video game magazines, and beyond. That said, Lara was allegedly originally inspired by such characters as Tank Girl, creator Toby Gard having tried to counter the stereotypical image of female characters of the day. Widely seen as the trigger for an increase in female video game protagonists, Lara definitely deserves a place on this list. Strong, intelligent and a force to be reckoned with, you can’t argue with her methods. Additionally, the upcoming Tomb Raider reboot promises the most realistic portrayal of Lara yet; Duke Nukem Forever, eat your heart out.

6. Samus Aran (The Metroid series)

The protagonist of the Metroid series was made into a woman as somewhat of an afterthought, developers taking inspiration from Ridley Scott’s 1979 film, Alien. An ex-soldier and bounty hunter, she is almost always seen in a bulky suit of power armor (definitely not a stereotypically sexy outfit), and can easily deal with whatever is thrown at her during the course of the game (power ups permitting). However, starting with the first game, there is a tradition of rewarding players who complete the game with images of a scantily clad Samus, sans suit, which arguably undoes the dignity of her portrayal just a little bit.

5.Commander Shepard (Mass Effect)

Because saving the galaxy is a tough job. While the male incarnation of Shepard is generally used for most Mass Effect promotional materials, many believe that femShep (as she is affectionately known) is far superior. Voiced by veteran voice actress Jennifer Hale, Jane Shepard is just as capable as her male counterpart (let’s face it, even death can’t stop her). While BioWare should probably be praised for striving for some semblance of equality, the fact that the male version of Shepard is almost always favored (and generally considered canon) is perhaps a little disappointing.

4. Jade (Beyond Good & Evil)

Beyond Good & Evil was, sadly, rather neglected following its initial release, and as a result protagonist, Jade, was definitely under appreciated. Taking up a job as a photo journalist in order to help support her guardian, Pey’j’s orphanage, she soon finds herself drawn into a resistance movement, working against a corrupt and deadly military dictatorship. An accomplished martial artist and athlete, there are few things that can stop Jade in her quest for justice (and those that try would probably get a staff to the face).

3. Jennifer Tate (Primal)

Voiced by Hudson Leick (Callisto from Xena: Warrior Princess), Jennifer “Jen” Tate is a fighter. Having grown up in a string of foster homes, when the game begins she’s working as a waitress in order to save up money to go to university. However, tragedy strikes when her boyfriend Lewis is kidnapped by a servant of Abaddon, the embodiment of Chaos, and it falls to Jen to save both him and her world as she knows it. Despite being cynical and a little short tempered, Jen ultimately means well. The game’s writing strikes a good balance between stereotypical tough girl and genuine emotion, making Jen not only realistic but also pretty likable (additionally, it makes a change for a girl having to go and save her boyfriend, instead of vice versa).

2. The Boss (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater)

The Boss (notable for her unisex name) is a legendary American soldier who is credited with founding (and leading) the Cobra unit, as well as being widely known as “the mother” of the US special forces. Despite allegedly being the game’s antagonist, The Boss had a strength and depth of character not seen in many others, as well as an indomitable sense of honor. Her gender never held her back (even when she was pregnant, she was out on the battlefield), The Boss’s reputation easily preceding her. Indeed, she was a huge influence on a lot of the game’s characters, even after her death, Big Boss stating that killing her – his mentor – made him feel like he had killed a part of himself.

1. Alyx Vance (Half-Life 2)

Strong and independent without shoving it in your face, Alyx is a realistically portrayed and highly capable woman. Skilled at hacking and engineering and easily able to hold her own in a fight, the sequences in Half-Life 2 where you’re accompanied by her are rarely as annoying as those with other co-op companions can be (I won’t name names, or I may not be able to stop). Cheerful, witty and even practically attired, few people wouldn’t want Alyx having their back in Ravenholm (or anywhere else, for that matter). Additionally, Dog (who Alyx herself modded from his original three foot incarnation to the massive behemoth he is today) is one of the more awesome robot characters to appear in recent video games. Playing fetch with a roller mine? Fyeah.

source

Xbox 720 set for E3 2012

Xbox 720 set for E3 2012

According to a Crytek insider Microsoft was showing off the new machine in video form at the recently concluded E3 2011, with Microsoft again planning to release their new console before Sony.
Speaking to VideoGamer.com, the Crytek mole revealed that development on TimeSplitters 4 is based on Microsoft's existing DirectX 11 technology for the PC and uses a version of CryEngine 3 - which was last used for Crysis 2.

Apparently tessellation, multithreaded rendering, and compute shaders are all planned for the console, which would probably be very exciting if we knew what any of that meant.
A new TimeSplitters has been rumoured a number of times before, ever since Crytek bought creators Free Radical Design and renamed them Crtyek UK. According to these new rumours the new game will feature, 'branching paths and exploratory nature, with sandbox-style gameplay elements a big priority.'
Which doesn't sound much like the TimeSplitters we know and love, but as long as it's more like its inspiration GoldenEye 007 and less like Free Radical's awful Haze we're just happy to have more.
We would advise some caution here though, as it's not the first time Crytek has predicted an imminent reveal of next generation consoles, and it's not clear how much of the prediction is based on wishful thinking and how much on insider knowledge.
That said there seems little question that Microsoft (and Sony) are working on new consoles, with rumours prior to E3 suggesting that some developers already had development kits for the Xbox 720 - or whatever it ends up being called.
A reveal of the new system at E3 2012, or at least a hint as to its existence, has been widely predicted for some time. You might even hear something about it first at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in early March.
As for Crtyek they're already trying to expand their business onto smartphones, tablets and other formats, including the Wii U. Their ultimate goal seems to be to make CryEngine 3 as ubiquitous as the rival Unreal Engine 3 from Epic Games.

Read more: Metro

The World’s Hottest Volleybelles

The sand fairies

Sun, sea, sand and of course, the sexy players.

Miwa Asao

Thanks to her pretty looks, 24-year-old Miwa Asao is quite a celebrity in Japan and was often credited for popularizing the sport of beach volleyball in the country. It is no wonder she is called "Pixie of the beach".

Carolina Solberg Salgado

Not only is Carolina Solberg Salgado one of volleyball's most promising stars, she is one of volleyball's sexiest too. Well known for her powerful spikes and nearly pin-point accuracy, she won a gold medal in the 2004 FIVB Under-18 World Championship and the Under-21 World Championship in 2005. Carolina Solberg Salgado is the reason why we love Brazil.

Logan Tom

Her name might not be the sexiest, but everything else about Logan Tom is sexy: the 2008 Olympics silver medalist and Best Scorer was named in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women list in 2005.

 

Maurizia Cacciatori

With 228 international appearances, Maurizia Cacciatori is one of Italy's most decorated and most famous volleyball players. She was often referred to as the Anna Kournikova of volleyball and labeled as the sex symbol of women's volleyball. No arguments there.

 

Xue Chen

At the age of 17, the cutesy Xue Chen became the youngest player to ever win a major event. More importantly, Chen's combination of beauty and skill helped popularize beach volleyball in China and she was ranked third in CNN International's list of Asia's 30 Sexiest Athletes. We couldn't agree more.

Laura Ludwig

At just the age of 21, Laura Ludwig and her partner Sara Goller was already Germany's number one pair. And here's what we love about pretty Laura: she bounced back from a career-threatening stroke to win U23 European Championships. We have always loved a hot survivor. 

Merel Mooren

Merel Mooren started her career in volleyball in 1989 - when she was only seven! - and later decided to ditch the courts and her clothes for beach volleyball in 2002. It was a smart move, because not only she became one of Holland's greatest; she became one of Holland's hottest athletes too.

Jenelle Koester

The 33-year-old Jenelle Koester is a walking legend in volleyball, especially during her college days where she is still the career leader in kills. As for beach volleyball, well, she looks hot in a bikini, and that's all that matters.

 

Raquel Caulkins

 Gorgeous looks aside, the 28-year-old Raquel Caulkins is a hot-shot (no pun intended) in the Association of Volleyball Professionals league; she was named Rookie of the Year in 2009 and was established as a main draw player after only three tournaments. 

Gabrielle Reece

Back in the day, Gabrielle Reece used to be a pro volleyball player, and now she is a model-slash-TV presenter. Doesn't matter she is not playing anymore, she is still a hottie. 

Katie Olsovsky

Katie Olsovsky was an All-American during her college days, and a part of Team USA. And she's a giant too; standing at 1.90 metres. To be honest, there's just something about tall volleyball players that we absolutely love.