Warcraft - statically recompiled executable for GP2X

Original Warcraft version 1.21 required

Read the included file "readme-GP2X.txt" for instructions

http://archive.gp2x.de/cgi-bin/cfile...,0,0,0,20,2746

I must get an f200 console ...

Clint Hocking has a solution for a particularly vexing problem. The Ubisoft Creative Director says game review scores have been artificially inflated over the years, thanks in large part to the use of the 100-point scoring system. The fix? All game critics should switch to a five-star system instead.

According to Hocking, who has developed games like Splinter Cell and Far Cry 2, 35 of the 100 current top-rated games (as tracked by an aggregate site) were released after 2001. That presents a skewed view of the industry's history and points toward a recent inflation of sorts in game reviews, Hocking argues. During a panel at the Game Developers Conference, Hocking compared the situation to that of the wine industry, where the 100-point rating system has created the so-called "cult of 90-plus."

After wine critic Robert M. Parker introduced the 100-point rating system to the wine industry, wines soon began to be divided into two distinct categories: those that received scores of 90 or higher and those that did not. Hocking read a quote from another noted wine critic who distinctly divided wines along those lines, even claiming there was an important and mysterious difference between a wine that received a score of, say, 89 percent and a wine that was blessed with a score of 90.

"I like a glass of wine as much as the next guy, especially if it has gin in it," Hocking archly noted. But he called that 89/90 distinction ridiculous, and warned that the sentiment is already creeping into the world of gaming.

His solution is to move to a five-star system that would theoretically remove the point-by-point score inflation he believes is happening in game criticism. Hocking's theory is that game critics are under pressure to keep up with improvements in the game industry by gradually tacking percentage points -- or fractions of points, or pluses and minuses, etc. -- to review scores over time, causing score inflation. Hocking compared this to grade inflation that affects high schools and universities.

So what do you think? Is the 100-point (or decimal based 1-10 scale) creating an inflationary environment for videogame review scores? Or are those slivers of distinction an important tool for gaming consumers to use when comparing titles? And would moving the industry toward a five-star system solve the problem, or would aggregate sites simply convert that data into the equivalent of a 100-point scale, thus re-creating the problem? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/966/966697p1.html ...

SamuraiX has released a new version of Openbor for the PSP/GP2x and Windows, heres whats new and info for those who dont know what Openbor is:


Download and Give Feedback Via Comments ...

SamuraiX has released a new version of Openbor for the PSP/GP2x and Windows, heres whats new and info for those who dont know what Openbor is:


Download and Give Feedback Via Comments ...

Arikado has updated Wii Shooting Gallery to 1.9


Download and Give Feedback Via Comments ...

Kid Icarus may be floating in limbo, but Over the Top Games is busy crafting a WiiWare title that might sate our appetites for winged heroes in ancient Greece. Icarian: Kindred Spirits is a 2D side-scrolling platformer where players control a girl named Nyx who has the ability to fly. Mythical beasts like harpies and hydras stand in the way of our heroine and her missing friend: Icarus. Zeus and the gods of Olympus will lend Nyx their power so she can change the environment or manipulate the wind.

Over the Top says the game is controlled with pointing and wrist movements. Two players will be able to participate cooperatively.
Icarian is the first effort from Over the Top Games, which is based in Madrid, Spain. A release date has not been announced but IGN hopes to have more info to share soon.

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/966/966663p1.html ...

After a decade hiatus, Kenji Eno returned to the gaming scene with newtonica for iPhone. But that was apparently just a teaser. The real Kenji Eno surfaced today with a new WiiWare game.

Titled "Kimi to Boku to Rittai," this latest WiiWare download hit the Japanese service today at 1,000 Wii Points. The game is published by Nintendo and developed by Eno's company fyto ("From Yellow to Orange").

The name translates, roughly (very roughly), to "You, Me, and Shape." Presented with a stack of cubes, your goal is to position human-like characters called "ninge" onto the cubes. This is tough because the cubes respond to weight, and tilt in one direction if the Ninge balance is off.

You control the action exclusively with the Wiimote. To add Ninge to the world, you shake the Wiimote up and down. Pointing and pressing A tosses a Ninge to your desired location. You can toss two in at a time.

This is all probably best understood by viewing the videos at the game's official site.

There's no word yet on Kimi to Boku to Rittai's chances for a release outside of Japan, but given the simple concept and the fact that Nintendo is serving as publisher, we wouldn't be too surprised if it did come our way.

And with any luck, Eno will follow up with another D or Enemy Zero game.

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/966/966581p1.html ...

While Virtual Console Arcade launched with a modest four titles, it turns out that there's more on the way -- a lot more!

In Japan, the service launched today with six titles. Four of these were from Namco Bandai, who went on to also reveal that it has an additional 26 games on the way!

The Japanese launch lineup for Virtual Console Arcade includes the following: Star Force (Taito), Space Harrier (Sega), Gaplus (Namco Bandai), The Return of Ishtar (Namco Bandai), Emeraldia (Namco Bandai) and Solvalou (Namco Bandai). Star Force is priced at 500 WiiPoints. Everything else, at 800 WiiPoints.

Different from the US lineup, Japan did not get Namco Bandai's Tower of Druaga or Mappy at launch. These will be added in the future. Here's the full list of what Namco Bandai has on the way for the Japanese VCA service:


Assault
Galaga 88
Cosmo Gang the Puzzle
Cosmo Gang the Video
Cyber Sled
Sky Kid
Star Blade
Splatterhouse
Xevious
Dragon Spirit
Dragon Saber
Dragon Buster
Tower of Druaga
Knuckle Heads
Burning Force
Pacmania
Finest Hour
Numan Athletics
Pehlios
Hopping Mappy
Mabael Land
Mappy
Rolling Thunder
Wonder Momo
Genpei Toma Den
Youkai Dochuki (Shadow Land)
These will be released gradually, at a rate of one per week. Each game will carry a 800 WiiPoint price point.

For screenshots, mostly of the title screens, see Namco Bandai's Japanese Virtual Console Arcade page.

Bandai Namco isn't the only company offering up future support for the service. Taito is planning on releasing the classic of all classics, Space Invaders. This, the company announced at an arcade event in Tokyo today, will be released in early April.

These announcements concern Japan only at present, but we won't be surprised if many of the games end up coming our way as well.

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/966/966579p1.html ...

Videogame makers have always confronted censorship issues from two sides: internal pressures for self-censorship and external pressures from political restrictions. Speaking in the panel "Silencing the Censors: Recent Developments in the Battle for Free Expression in Game Development," attorney Lawrence Walter recalled the late 80's when Nintendo refused to publish games with blood and required all enemies be armed or else made unkillable. Konami was forced to change the statue of a nude woman in the background of Castlevania IV (Super Castlevania in North America) to be cleared for release.

More recently, politicians around the country have tried to control the sale and promotion of videogames with a slew of state laws. In Utah, a bill co-authored by Jack Thompson, the disbarred Florida attorney with a long history of professional misconduct, proposes to restrict the sale of videogames to minors using tenants from a truth in advertising law already passed. Earlier this year, a California law proposed a label be attached to all violent videogames: "WARNING: Excessive exposure to violent video games and other violent media has been linked to aggressive behavior."

A recent New York law proposes that violent videogames be displayed in a separate area at all game retailers, akin to the way pornography has been sectioned off in many video rental outlets. In Germany, Counter-Strike has been banned. Australia has no game rating in place for Mature titles, meaning anything inappropriate for teens is unsellable. In France a recent tax incentive for game development is restricted to only those developers making non-violent content.

Where such laws have passed in the US, they have been struck down as unconstitutional in almost every case. Earlier this year the Ninth Circuit Appeals Court struck down a 2005 law passed in California which restricted the sale or rental of violent video games to minors by penalizing merchants. The standards used to define violent content in the bill were inappropriately taken from a "harmful materials" portion of another law intended to protect minors from sex offenses. Elsewhere, courts have ruled that forcing publishers to label their games with an "18" marker qualifies as "compelled speech." Thanks to First Amendment protections, no person or party can be compelled to say something they don't want to say.

Still, videogames remain an easy target for politicians and conservative groups around the world. The games industry is getting ready to fight back. In another session promoting the Anti-Censorship and Social Issues Committee, Daniel Greenberg, a game consultant and lobbyist, laid out the framework for the continuation of his fight against videogame censorship.

There are three main tenants to Greenberg's call to consolidate a strong and powerful Anti-Censorship Committee in the games industry. The first and most important issue is the creation of an ESRB cheat sheet for developers and publishers to use so that they know what sort of rating they can expect from the ESRB. In the past, many developers have worked without any idea where there game would fall in accordance with current ESRB guidelines. Those guidelines have been available in the past, but as they continue to evolve, a Committee is needed to update those changes and make sure they are distributed as widely as possible.

The next essential action point is the creation of a Best Practices document that developers can use for guidance in addressing potentially sensitive themes or scenarios, as well as handling media interest in a potential controversy. According to Greenberg, some of the biggest pressures for limiting content can come from self-censorship. This Best Practices document would encourage developers to think about how to responsibly defend their creations.

Each game will require its own unique reasoning for potentially controversial content. "The Godfather is a very different movie from Faster Pussycat Kill, Kill," noted Greenberg. "Not that you shouldn't make violent video games, but we want to encourage thought about responsibilities."

The final component in the Anti-Censorship Committee would be the formation of Rapid Response that can be deployed across the country to testify at the local, state and federal level. Often politicians unfamiliar with the whole videogame "thing" will hold hearings to investigate their most extreme suspicions about social decay, and there are too few experienced advocated willing to step forward and speak in defense of the medium.

As game makers continue to push the boundaries social and political forces will continue to push back. An organized committee with experienced industry veterans, would be the best way to ensure the expressive freedom of all future game designers.

http://uk.wii.ign.com/articles/966/966545p1.html ...