Posted by: xSicKxBot - 05-22-2019, 02:54 AM - Forum: Lounge
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The Most Influential Games Of The 21st Century: Halo: Combat Evolved
Join GameSpot as we celebrate gaming history and give recognition to the most influential games of the 21st century. These aren't the best games, and they aren't necessarily games that you need to rush out and play today, but there's no question that they left an indelible impact on game developers, players, and in some cases, society at large.
It's hard to explain what it was like to be a console first-person shooter fan in 2001. While PC players had been enjoying FPS games for years, the experience was never as strong on consoles. Where PCs had the fluidity of the mouse-and-keyboard setup, controls on console struggled to capture the same feel--to this day, two of the best-regarded FPS games of the era, GoldenEye 64 and its follow-up, Perfect Dark, were played with controllers that didn't even sport dual analog sticks. In the nascent days of console online multiplayer, squaring off against other players, the thing that could really make shooters exciting, was limited to split-screen battles (often on tiny TVs). There were standout titles of the era, of course, but the FPS field was nothing like what we experience today.
Imagine, then, the arrival of Halo: Combat Evolved. For the first time, the discussion around console shooters opens up to a huge number of new possibilities. The Xbox's system link multiplayer, the console market's first experience with LAN, meant you could play with seven other friends--and more than that, you could work together as teams and execute tactics that your opponents couldn't anticipate simply by glancing over at your side of the screen. For those whose gaming consisted purely of console experiences, it was the first time a shooter experience would become something similar to playing paintball or laser tag. It was a glimpse of the possibilities of the shooting genre's future, and it was glorious.
Halo's arrival on the console FPS scene didn't just herald the shooter future, it manifested it. From the jump, the game was unmatched. In the very first mission, as players took on the role of genetically enhanced supersoldier Master Chief, developer Bungie was throwing together elements that shifted how playing shooters felt on a fundamental level. First and foremost was the enemy design. The alien Covenant were generally not idiots--they fought hard and smart, taking cover when they were hurt, grouping up to channel their fire, throwing grenades to flush you out of your hiding places, and charging up when they knew they had you on the ropes. Every encounter with an Elite enemy in the original Halo was a harrowing one, because the bastards weren't just tough and didn't just absorb a lot of shots. They were also very good at finding ways to kill you (and never missed a chance to laugh about it afterward).
Bungie set a standard with enemy AI design in Halo. But it also did a lot to make its fights feel more like battles, capturing a feeling that many shooters have chased ever since. The mostly-pretty-good AI extended to allies as well, and much of the time in Halo, you're fighting the Covenant with the support of a squad of UNSC Marines. You might be a one-player army in Halo, but you always felt like part of a team, and excited shouts of your squadmates as you take down a big enemy or set off a big explosion (as well as their cries as they got blasted by grenades) created the sense that there was more to Halo than just your role in the game. Few titles captured the feeling of stepping straight into a full, realized world the way Halo did, and a huge part of that was the idea that you were just one (really good) soldier in a much larger, active army.
Halo felt like it was doing something video games had always wanted to do, but had never quite achieved before.
So many of those battles managed to take on an epic scale thanks to Halo's perfect combination of elements. Huge fields often had vehicles crossing them, some of which you had to deal with on foot, others which you could battle in tanks or Warthogs of your own, with marines jumping into the gunner positions to back you up. A phenomenal soundtrack and Bungie's cinematic approach made those moments even more exhilarating, expanding the scope even further. The game's smart level design gave you tons of agency--you could pick your way through engagements, slamming straight into enemies or finding ways to flank them out while your squad distracted them, hunting down vehicles or rocket launchers to turn the tide in your favor, or sneaking past enemies and avoiding fights altogether.
Halo felt expansive in a new way for shooters, setting the tone for massive, cinematic, action movie-like games that would follow. Level after level, Halo felt like it was doing something video games had always wanted to do, but had never quite achieved before. It wasn't necessarily inventing new things, but it took the best ideas of the genre and turned them into a singular experience. When it comes to the AAA shooter experience as we now know it, Bungie cracked the code with Halo.
Shooters are still feeling the influence of some of the best and freshest ideas of Halo. The ability to carry only two weapons and think strategically about which you pick up? Halo. Recharging shields that force you to find a shady spot and consider your tactical options mid-fight? Halo. Grenades on a trigger button, ready at all times? Halo. The standard in console FPS control schemes? Halo again. The franchise it spawned was such a powerhouse that for years, developers and publishers hoped their games might become the "Halo-killer" to usurp its place at the top of the shooter heap.
Bungie elevated console shooters with Halo, but the even bigger lasting influence of the game might be how it shook the console landscape by legitimizing Microsoft's Xbox. When Microsoft decided to leap into the console market, there was no shortage of skepticism, but Halo was the reason to purchase the new machine. The game proved that Microsoft was not just some late-comer trying to use an abundance of cash to muscle out the dominant PlayStation, and it would be Halo's sequels that helped make Microsoft a bigger force through Xbox Live. Through its role as an Xbox exclusive, Halo helped lay the foundation for the next two decades of what gaming would become.
Halo changed the conception of what games could be for a lot of players. It rocked the shooter world with ideas that have become standards to this day, and its approaches to gameplay and presentation made for that truly "epic" experience that games have continued to try to capitalize on ever since. But more than anything, it altered gaming for console players, elevating the experience with an amazing single-player campaign, a huge and expansive game world, and the first steps into the future of multiplayer. Playing Halo in 2001, it felt like things had changed--almost 20 years later, we're still feeling the shockwaves.
Limited Run Games Releasing Dragon’s Lair Trilogy Collector’s Edition
At the start of the year, a Switch box art for Dragon’s Lair Trilogy was spotted on Nintendo’s official website. At the time, it was enough to convince fans a physical release on the way. It even revealed Limited Run Games would be handling the hard copy publishing rights.
Fast forward to the month of May and LRG is now offering a limited collector’s edition for hardcore Dragon’s Lair fan. This $79.99 version includes a poster, enamel pin and themed papercraft, with pre-orders opening this Friday. Below is a look at what you’ll get, along with the official announcement:
For the die-hard Dragon’s Lair fan, there will be a Collector’s Edition available in limited quantity this Friday, 5/24 at 10am & 6pm EDT. This CE includes a poster, enamel pin, and arcade cabinet papercraft… perfect for recreating @Stranger_Things
The owner of Limited Run Games, Josh Fairhurst, even chimed in to reveal some more information about what to expect:
“This is a premium box that has light-activated sound which plays when the drawer is pulled out (it plays the “Lead on adventurer – your quest awaits!” line from the game’s attract mode).”
Of course, there’ll also be a standard edition made available on the same day (24th May), if you would prefer this.
As we’ve previously noted, the trilogy contains Dragon’s Lair, Dragon’s Lair II: Time Warp and Space Ace – where you take control of Ace instead of Dirk. These games are comprised of cinematic quick-time events with animation from Don Bluth. The first game was released in arcades in 1983, Space Ace came out in 1984 and Dragon’s Lair II arrived in 1991.
Do you have room in your physical Switch collection for this trilogy? Tell us down in the comments.
Posted by: xSicKxBot - 05-22-2019, 02:54 AM - Forum: Windows
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Harnessing big data in pediatric research to reimagine healthcare
For many of us, life begins in the hospital—and so does our health data. Health organizations worldwide are amassing more information than ever before from millions of patients throughout their lifetimes. Wrangling massive volumes of health data—from smart devices, medical devices, electronic medical records and community health systems—is no small task, but cloud computing offers researchers a promising way to tap into this resource to achieve meaningful medical progress and improved patient outcomes. Microsoft for Healthcare aims to do just that: harness the power of data to reimagine healthcare, improve the health of the population, and, ultimately, help save lives.
YouTube Video
Zeroing in on clues
One of the most promising examples of this is in our collaboration with Seattle Children’s Research Institute. We are working together to find clues to a persistent and tragic medical mystery that hits close to home: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Every year, more than 3,500 infants die of SIDS-related causes in the United States. One of these children was the son of John Kahan, my colleague and Microsoft’s chief data analytics officer. John has made it his mission for no parent to lose a child to SIDS, and with his data science team at Microsoft and our friends at Seattle Children’s, they are working toward that goal in earnest.
The team started with publicly available data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on 26 million births and deaths, and along with other data sets, studied 90 columns of data about every child born in the U.S. over a six-year period. Through this data science effort done in the cloud on Microsoft Azure, they discovered several correlations that showed statistical increases in SIDS. They then brought those findings to Seattle Children’s Research Institute, one of the world leaders in pediatric genomics and brain research— and lucky for us, right in our backyard.
Since then, we’ve been working together to expand the effort and the science, creating a collaborative genomics database for Seattle Children’s and the top SIDS medical researchers worldwide, and a world-class team of Microsoft data scientists. Together, we recently published our first manuscript from this collaboration in the peer-reviewed medical journal, Pediatrics, in which we used advanced modelling techniques to analyze the relationship between maternal smoking during pregnancy and SIDS-related deaths. Going forward, the hope is to use sequenced whole genomes as an additional data set along with the CDC data and other information in Microsoft Azure, helping to identify SIDS risk factors and, ultimately, ways to help prevent SIDS.
Similarly, we’ve been able to assist pediatric cancer researchers. Working with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and our partner DNAnexus, we’ve been thrilled to be a part of the creation of the St. Jude Cloud—a cloud-based data-sharing and collaboration environment based on Microsoft Azure that contains an extensive public repository of pediatric cancer genomics data. St. Jude Cloud stores and shares thousands of cancer patient samples mapped against the human genome template, enabling researchers around the world to access and exchange data on a global basis. Researchers from more than 450 institutions across 16 countries now have immediate access to data that previously could take weeks to download, as well as access to complex computational analysis pipelines. The availability of this data could lead to progress in eradicating childhood cancer.
Clues like these seed future research, turning mere hints into new medical and biological knowledge, diagnostics, or therapeutics. Like John Kahan, many of our data scientists have been touched personally by medical or health issues and are exceptionally motivated to help solve these puzzles.
Reimagining healthcare
Collaborations like those with Seattle Children’s and St. Jude are just the beginning. Our technology is in virtually every healthcare organization in the world, from a nurse-led clinic in Kenya to larger organizations like Kaiser Permanente in the United States and NHS Glasgow and Clyde in the United Kingdom, putting us in a unique position to build and expand solutions with cloud computing and AI.
For us, reimagining healthcare starts with finding well-defined and well-scoped problems, then bringing together the best minds from a diverse set of disciplines and people—computer science, AI and data science, bioscience and medical—to solve them.
By analyzing masses of data with trusted cloud computing, one health concern at a time, we have a chance to extract new knowledge that could make a positive difference—empowering healthcare teams, improving operational outcomes and care coordination, and personalizing care.
Join us in reimagining healthcare. To learn more about harnessing the power of health data with cloud computing, take a look at our new e-book A New Framework for Healthcare in a Digital World. For a deeper dive on Microsoft Genomics visit here.
Save up to $1,000 on 2018 MacBook Pros with these blowout deals
Exclusive
By Christine McKee Tuesday, May 21, 2019, 04:27 pm PT (07:27 pm ET)
More price drops are in, and these special markdowns are available exclusively for AppleInsider readers. Save $500 to $1,000 instantly on 2018 15-inch MacBook Pros featuring 32GB of memory and at least 1TB of storage. In addition to the lowest prices ever, shoppers can take advantage of no interest financing or a sales tax refund, further adding to the savings.
Delivering the lowest prices ever on loaded Mid 2018 15-inch MacBook Pros, these exclusive deals knock $500 to $1,000 off configurations with 32GB of memory and at least 1TB of storage. Readers can also find models with upgraded graphics for a nice performance boost over the standard 2018 spec.
Along with the exclusive savings, B&H is tacking on free expedited shipping within the contiguous U.S., so you can get up and running quickly — usually in as little as one to three business days. Special financing incentives are also available, ranging from no interest when paid in full within 12 months with the B&H Financing Credit Card to a sales tax refund in qualifying states via the new B&H Payboo Card. It’s definitely worth looking into the financing incentives, especially if you want to spread the payments out over time or live in a state eligible for the Payboo tax-equivalent loyalty rebate.
To see how these discounts stack up against the competition, be sure to check out our 2018 15-inch MacBook Pro Price Guide for up-to-date pricing across top Apple authorized resellers. At press time, these prices are the lowest available by at least $200 to $400.
How to activate the deals
These Apple deals are link-activated and require shoppers to use the special pricing links in this post or in our Price Guide from a laptop, desktop or iPad. They will not work in mobile apps, including B&H’s iOS app. Step-by-step instructions for redeeming the discounts can be found below.
Instructions: To activate the deals, simply click through the B&H pricing links above using AppleInsider’s desktop site and look for the advertised prices.
Please note: These offers cannot be activated through the B&H and AppleInsider apps at this time. If you still cannot see the exclusive prices using the desktop site, all is not lost! Need help? Send us a note at [email protected] and we will do our best to assist. Prices are set to expire on May 28.
Additional Apple Deals
AppleInsider and Apple authorized resellers are also running a handful of additional exclusive promotions this month on Apple hardware that will not only deliver the lowest prices on many of the items, but also throw in discounts on AppleCare, software and accessories. These deals are as follows:
Observation is a sci-fi thriller uncovering what happened to Dr. Emma Fisher, and the crew of her mission, through the lens of the station?s artificial intelligence S.A.M. Players assume the role of S.A.M. by operating the station?s control systems, cameras, and tools to assist Emma in discovering what is happening to the station, the vanished crew, and S.A.M. himself.
Sony has again provided some new details on its next-generation console. As part of Sony's Corporate Strategy Meeting today, the company discussed at a high level what it hopes to achieve in the future across its various business units, including PlayStation.
The two keywords for PlayStation going forward are "immersive" and "seamless," Sony said. Concerning hardware, Sony said its next-generation console, the PlayStation 5, will offer an "immersive experience created by dramatically increased graphics rendering speeds."
This will be made possible through the "employment of further improved computational power and a customized ultra-fast, broadband SSD," Sony said.
Overall, the PlayStation 5--or whatever Sony ends up calling its new console--will offer experiences that "greatly exceed" what is possible on PS4 and PS4 Pro. Sony said people can expect "completely transformative and immersive gaming experiences" on the PS5.
One of the features that PlayStation system architect Mark Cerny talked about for the PS5 is how its use of solid-state drives will reduce loading screen times.
Cerny pointed out that the fast travel loading screen in Spider-Man on PS4 took roughly 15 seconds on a PS4 Pro, but less than one second on a dev kit for the PS5. Given that the new hardware will be backwards compatible with older games, that means your load times will likely be reduced across the board when you upgrade. Check out the video below from The Wall Street Journal report Takashi Mochizuki who is attending the Sony event today to see the faster load times in action.
Sony's official video comparing performance of PS4 Pro vs next-gen PlayStation pic.twitter.com/2eUROxKFLq
Cerny also talked about how the PS5 will allow for faster rendering, which means more environmental objects and textures will populate at a faster rate. In the presentation today, Sony said the PS5 will offer "many new features" beyond these advancements to loading and rendering, though none were mentioned.
Also during the presentation, Sony said it expects the PS4 to reach sales of 100 million units by the end of the 2019 calendar year. PS4 sales currently stand at 96.8 million systems sold. PlayStation Network has 94 million monthly active users, the company said.
Additionally, Sony management talked about how streaming will play a big role in the PlayStation brand going forward. The PS5 will support Remote Play functionality, Sony confirmed, while management also said it's looking to its new deal with Microsoft for cloud-gaming solutions to play a role in the company's future success in that area. Sony of course already operates the PlayStation Now streaming service (which has 700,000 subscribers by Sony's latest count), but it appears the company has bigger and bolder plans in the future.
Sony is not attending E3 2019 next month, so the company presumably won't be announcing the PlayStation 5 there. The PlayStation 5 will have an "appealing" price point given its specs, according to Cerny, but there is no ballpark estimate yet regarding what the price may be.
Video: 10 Things We Still Don’t Know For Certain About Super Mario Maker 2
As unbelievable as it might be, there are still a lot of things we don’t know about Super Mario Maker 2. Even after all the Direct footage, in-depth analysis and information via the game’s eShop listing and website, there’s plenty to find out.
That’s why our lovely senior video producer, Alex Olney, has rounded up precisely 10 things, we still don’t know for certain about this upcoming June release. If for one reason or another you don’t have time to watch this amazing 13-minute video, here’s a brief summary of what we’re unsure about simply because Nintendo hasn’t told us, or yeah…some other reason!
Does the sequel include local multiplayer outside of course-making co-op?
Can winged Boos circling in rings now follow Mario?
The lack of amiibo costumes on display – will they actually be in the game, or not?
That Hammer Power-Up? Is it tied to the Hammer Bros. suit or is it something brand new?
A caution cone on the item wheel and a record icon were spotted in the Japanese trailer – is there custom music or a special trigger?
Extra Game Styles – are there more?
Playing as other characters in single player, will it be allowed?
Can you swap items on item wheels?
How will downvotes work in the game?
Where is that weird and tall-looking mushroom that makes Mario look hilarious?
What do you think? Can you provide answers to our questions in the comments below? Watch the above video and share your thoughts.
Spider-Man: Far From Home Teaser Clip Confirms Major Spoiler
When it comes to spoilers in Spider-Man: Far From Home, Marvel Studios and Sony aren't being anywhere near as cautious as with Avengers: Endgame. A new promo manages to spoil something major that was hinted at in an earlier trailer, which is impressive since the clip in question is only five seconds long. If you don't want to be spoiled, now's when you should stop reading.
The promo confirms that MJ (Zendaya) finds out Peter Parker's (Tom Holland) secret identity as Spider-Man, making her the second of Peter's school friends to realize he has extraordinary powers--the other being Ned (Jacob Batalon). The video was caught by a user on Twitter, who shared it.
This plot twist was first hinted at in the latest Spider-Man: Far From Home trailer, in which MJ confronts Peter with his secret identity, telling him, "It's kind of obvious." Still, given the Marvel Cinematic Universe's reliance on secrecy and misdirects in trailers, it was hard to believe this is how the story would go.
In the latest clip, though, it's clear that not only does MJ know, she figured it out on her own. What remains to be seen is precisely how she figures it out. Granted, Spider-Man does seem to go wherever Peter does and conveniently pop up as soon as he disappears. So perhaps it's not that hard to figure out.
Spider-Man: Far From Home sees the cast of the first movie return, along with the first appearance of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill since they popped up in Endgame. Another intriguing new addition is Jake Gyllenhaal as Mysterio. While traditionally, Mysterio has been a villain in the comics, the trailers thus far have painted him as a hero from a parallel dimension. Still, we're convinced he's lying and turns out to be the villain of this particular story.
Spider-Man: Far From Home is in theaters on July 2.
Resident Evil 4 On Switch Is Missing Something Pretty Major For Nintendo Fans
We’re currently playing our way through Resident Evil 4 for our review, and while the prospect of once again enjoying what is perhaps the zenith of the entire franchise has pleased us greatly, there’s one thing missing from the Switch port: motion control.
It would seem that Resident Evil 4 on Switch is very much a straight conversion of the PS4 and Xbox One HD update from a while back, and no attempt has been made to factor in the motion controls that made the Wii edition of the game so appealing.
While alternative control options are available in-game, none of them enable motion control — something that could have been replicated quite easily thanks to the unique nature of the Joy-Con controllers.
You can’t really blame Capcom for this; directly porting the existing HD version is clearly the easiest option, and only a small portion of the user base on Switch will even notice the lack of motion input, but it still means that this isn’t quite the ‘definitive’ version of the game.
Capcom could, of course, patch motion controls in at a later date, but does it need to? Let us know your thoughts with a comment below.
