With the much anticipated launch of Crysis around the corner, November 16th, a lot of gamers have been wondering what kind of a super computer they will need in order to get in some Crytek fun. Crytek and the folks at EA aren’t just looking at whats available now, but also what they might be able to do in the future as well a couple of years from now.

Here are the minimum and recommended system requirements from Crytek and EA:

Minimum System Requirements:

OS – Windows XP or Windows Vista
Processor – 2.8 GHz or faster (XP) or 3.2 GHz or faster* (Vista)
Memory – 1.0 GB RAM (XP) or 1.5 GB RAM (Vista)
Video Card –256 MB**
Hard Drive – 12GB
Sound Card – DirectX 9.0c compatible

* Supported Processors: Intel Pentium 4 2.8 GHz (3.2 GHz for Vista) or faster, Intel Core 2.0 GHz (2.2 GHz for Vista) or faster, AMD Athlon 2800+ (3200+ for Vista) or faster.

** Supported chipsets: NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT or greater; ATI Radeon 9800 Pro (Radeon X800 Pro for Vista) or greater. Laptop versions of these chipsets may work but are not supported. Integrated chipsets are not supported. Updates to your video and sound card drivers may be required.
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After hearing MS brag about their best lineup in history it got me thinking, throughout the years we have had different eras in gaming and consoles, which is everyone’s favorite?

For some their favorite will be the newest cutting edge technology, the nostalgia of the old 8 bit consoles, the progression to 16 bit or the classic old school Atari days. This can be viewed from many aspects like, games, hardware or just pure preference.

For this editor I think my favorite era of gaming has to be the NES and Sega Master System days. This opened the world of gaming to my eyes and got me really hooked, I can recall spending hours playying Ninja Gaiden and Contra, while discussing with my cousin which was the better system between the two. (I was always the Nintendo owner)

What do you guys think?

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With my new addition to my gaming stock, I currently have a Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, PSP and a DS now. Each with it’s own pros and cons, and just showing how big of a game junkie I am. What really struck me the other day as I hooked up my new PS3 to the HDMI slot in my TV was the drastic change that gaming has taken in the last few years.

I was now hooking up my systems into a HD television via either component cables or HDMI, which in the past I used to just hook up my NES into Red/Yellow/White inputs, shoot I thought I was cool when I got an AV switcher and could go from my PS1 to my GC or Dreamcast by flicking a button. Now I do this from my television remote and it’s numerous AV inputs in HD.

Not only have the hookups changed drastically, but just the mind frame in general. Gamers are now interested in the FPS (frames per second), HD capabilities, size of HDD and wireless connectivity. Right now I have the Wii, PS3 and my Xbox 360 all running via wireless networks, not to mention my PSP and DS as well.
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Many Nintendo Wii owners often griped about the lack of DVD playback well it seems that X-OOM has found an answer. It still sounds a bit hokey and this editor will continue to use his regular DVD player or his PS3 to watch movies. You still have to deal with SD memory since there is no HDD, which means you are limited to the size of files you can watch on the Wii.

X-OOM’s latest software, supporting the MJPEG codec, allows for perfect quality playback. Simply run the DVD on a PC and save the file using ‘Movies on Wii’ to the appropriate format; once this is complete, transfer the file to the Wii using an SD memory card.

With a number of editing options including an ‘Expert Mode’, you can also cut and back up individual scenes and whole movies as you wish. With help from X-OOM’s Fit-To-Stick technology, movies can be automatically loaded onto the memory card in a short, simple process using only the space that is available.

X-OOM Movies on Wii offers extensive support of video formats including DivX®, XviD, MPEG2, MPEG4, WMV etc.

Epic and GameSpy (owned by IGN) today announced a deal where GameSpy’s multiplayer technology will be incorporated into Unreal Engine 3. The deal affects PS3 to PC cross-platform play. Other features being included in the engine are communication tools, competition apps, matchmaking, stat tools, community features, leaderboards, and unannounced new features that may turn up down the line.

The kicker is that GameSpy says this could work for brining cross platform play in a single game to the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. How cool would that be?

GameSpy has the technology to actually connect gamers across virtually any platform for multiplayer play, even Xbox 360 to PS3 to PC. “We’re huge believers in cross-platform play,” said [Todd] Northcutt [GameSpy Technologies Director]. But he said it’s ultimately up to Microsoft and other game companies to realize the dream of total cross-platform gameplay.

I have a tingling feeling that Microsoft will want no part of this. They have their own Games for Windows Live stuff for cross platform play. Hang this one up there with your dream of the next Duke Nukem game dropping this decade.

Are you stuck in the last-gen with only a PS2 to your name? Do you wish you had that terrific motion control with your DualShock controller? Well, your time has come. The Zero G line of controllers will soon be released to remedy your pain.

The unique motion sensitive “Motion Controller” introduces motion sensing technology to PlayStation®2: a 3D motion sensor provides for intuitive steering and movement, matching the functions of the left mini joystick. The sensor can be turned on and off, accommodating the player’s individual preferences. The official license grants for optimum software compatibility. The “Wireless Controller” with a turbo feature for all analogue buttons provides for up to 300 h wireless gaming experience within a range of 10 m. Both devices are equipped with switchable vibration effects.

Too bad they didn’t make a wireless controller with motion controls. That would have been nice.

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No matter if you are an Xbox 360, PS3 or even a Wii fanboy I think we all have to tip our hats to the new generation of consoles and the power they bring to the table.

I recently heard about the requirements for the new John Woo game, Stranglehold on the PC and it’s borderline ridiculous requirements.

“The game will require at least 15 gigs of hard drive space, 2 gigs of ram and a Nvidia 7800 or higher / ATI x1300 or higher graphics card.”

That is a lot of machine required to play a FPS game on your computer, a buddy of mine recently ran into similar problems, but not as extreme, when he purchased Halo 2 and Shadowrun for the PC, he could not run Shadowrun on his rig. This is why PC gaming is a problem in my eyes, you have to constantly upgrade your computer just to keep up with the newest titles. Games are built for consoles and the only thing you have to worry about is upgrading to a different system every few years to stay with the curve of technology.

Each new console and handheld runs games with high quality graphics and you never have to be concerned about disk space or RAM, just buying the game and being able to get it unwrapped from it’s plastic straight jacket. Putting the problems of hardware aside (which PC systems are very prone to as well if not more if you factor in viruses) these consoles are designed to have you gaming with little to no effort or worries by the gamer, you have to respect the consoles and their pushing of one another to bring this technology further and faster every year.

As a huge fan of Starcraft I wonder what the requirements for the new Starcraft II game will be, at least for me if they are too exagerated Blizzard can count me out.

It seems that the Red Lights of Death have been appearing on the Wii, this time in the form of green dots called Sparkles reports many users over in the Neogaf forums. It seems that they happen when the system overheats or has been left on for a prolonged amount of time with high frame rate games such as Resident Evil 4. It seems that Nintendo has been very good with replacing systems and users report that if the Wii is left vertical, it does not seem to heat up as much. Since I do not own a Wii, I am unable to comment first hand, but is anyone else out there experiencing similar issues? If so, please let us know.

There has been some waves made around in some Xbox360 forums lately about a possible cause for massive system failure. Turns out, according to this official tech support report that the power brick is itself a surge protector and we as an owner should NOT plug the power brick into any further surge or extension cords. I took 2 years of engineering physics and basically have Ohm’s Law tattoed on my ass, and I do not see a reason why this should be any concern. The ventilation thing, yeah, no brainer. The surge protector? No, I do not buy that. The more electrical resistance against any kind of power surge should not be an issue. Is this another cop out by The Man saying its the consumer’s fault that so many 360’s are making the stock of UPS go through the roof? What do you guys think?

I have to say I think I will grab this one up, I hadn’t realized the price point for it, it weighs in at only $29.99, which is pretty hard to resist for a Wii game. I know it is a rehash but still a rehash of a great game that many may have missed the first time around and now incorporates the Wii motion technology, which could prove some fun when blasting zombies. Nintendo may have a winner here and may want ot hold onto this pricing strategy, I know I would buy more Wii games if they were all $29.99.