Second Life in CSI: NY.

You could be forgiven for thinking that trailer was a spoof but it's from an actual CSI:NY episode airing in the US on Wednesday. Finished staring at the video in crazed wonderment? Right!

I'm all for virtual worlds and Web 2.0 entering the mainstream but this is slightly strange. The plot sees Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise) entering Second Life in order to pursue a killer who has killed another Second Life user. Apparently Second Life is the Matrix as one of the shows characters (I don't watch the show) screams 'log off!' as Mac is about to be killed in the game. Although the episode would probably have been better with Mac's head being decapitated in real life at the same time as his virtual characters the episode is still worth watching because it's indeed a bold move for the show and it's novelty value is too much to pass on.

The show will also have a tie-in with Second Life (which expects an influx of a million new users) whereby fans will be given the task of solving the murders in Second Life. The show will apparently end on a cliff hanger with the plot being tied-up next February so there's an interactive element to the show in that viewers are encouraged to solve the murders themselves.

Although the show will undoubtedly bring new users to Second Life I'll put money on it that hardly any of them stick around - the furries will only scare them off if they stay! Stick to the CSI video games.

CSI:NY Comes To Second Life Wednesday - TechCrunch.
CSI:NY - CBS.

Control Second Life With Your Brain.

There's a common misconception that everyone who plays video games are lazy because all they seem to do is sit on their ass all day. With the advent of the Wii this opinion has changed a little but there's still the idea that video gamers could be doing far more with their time. So, when some Japanese bioengineers come up with a way of playing games without even so much as moving a muscle you might concede that these 'haters' have a point.

Unfortunately the 'game' they decided to test this on was Second Life and one could argue whether or not the 'games' users actually have brains that think about anything other than sex (cheer up, I'm kidding!). The device works by monitoring electrical activity in the motoro cortex via eternal electrodes on the scalp. Hmm, I'll let the experts explain this one;

All a user has to do to control his/her avatar is imagine performing various movements. The activity monitored by the headpiece is read and plotted by an electroencephalogram, which relays it to a computer running a brain wave analysis algorithm that interprets the imagined movements. A keyboard emulator then translates the data into signals which can be used to control the movements of the user's on-screen avatar in real-time. - Neurophilosophy

Ok, so Second Life users may just want to use this technology to shift their position on the bed but this device is potentially revolutionary. The video demonstration doesn't show anything more than simply walking around the environment but, of course, this is still in it's early stages. It's a little creepy thinking about it but a future where we control computers and devices just by thinking is looking very likely now.

The Japanese always invent the cool stuff.

Brain-computer interface for controlling Second Life avatars - Neurophilosophy (Via BoingBoing).
Video Demonstration - YouTube.
Keio University press release - Keio University.

Game of the Week: Orange Box (Half-Life 2: Episode Two Edition)

The Orange Box has much to answer too in view of the lack of posts around here lately. I could say that it's because I'm back at university and I'm drowning under a flood of incredibly dull work but we all know I'd be lying if I tried to use that in my defense. It was just too damn hard not to get wrapped up in the hype surrounding The Orange Box and it's such an amazing deal that you'd be a fool not to take advantage of it. By all rights I shouldn't even own the game because it's not out in the good old UK until October 18th, but I've fully embraced the future and Steam can always have a place in my bed (a woman would be preferred, of course).

Although you could spend all year reading the opinions and impressions of this excellent deal around the Internet - and anyone calling themselves a gamer would have played them to death already - I'm still going to offer my brief impressions anyway because, well, I know you love it really!

First up it's Half-Life 2: Episode Two.



Pimp My Ride: Half Life 2: Episode Two.

Wow.

I could just give you that one word and that would sum up everything I feel about this amazing experience but - because I'm nice - I'm going to give you a paragraph or two anyway. Episode Two is just so intricately designed, each nook and cranny given undue care and attention by the masterminds at Valve, that you can't help but open your mouth to utter such a statement. From the very beginning when you crawl out of a train wreck to be confronted by the ever lovable Alyx and the breathtaking sight of the open portal in the distance you know you're in for a good ride.

Admittedly throwing you straight into the tight confines of a mine seems like a bit of a tease when you start your journey in the 'open' countryside but Valve is merely making sure you don't get a taste of all the good stuff to come in one shot. Putting you up against Antlions is also presenting you with a familiar enemy so you already know how to deal with them, although there is some variation in Antlion Workers which spit toxic acid at you from a long distance, forcing you to take cover. When you finally escape the mine and see combine troops and striders traveling along a bridge in the distance you know the real journey is about to begin.

Still, it all feels a little too familiar. Until you get the car (see above) all the enemies are recurring, if still welcome, faces who'll you'll be able to deal with in no time except, this time, they seem to be in abundance compared to the previous games. The hunters supply a welcome, if terrifying, release from this familiarity and eventually you get your first taste - and a damn lot of it - of fighting the striders. When you put the two together you get one of the best parts of the game but it's still a common staple of any FPS to throw a horde of enemies at you and let you're trigger finger do the work. Where Episode Two slightly differs from this is the frantic race from point to point as you struggle to take out both the hunters and striders on meager resources while also giving you the 'freedom' (there's no actual freedom in the car since the game still has a set path you have to follow to continue the story line and trigger new events) to tear the dirt apart in your pimped out ride. It's an amazing climax that the game spent a lot of effort building up to.

Where Episode Two really shines is it story and it's enough to rival any Hollywood blockbuster. In Half-Life 2 I was never totally impressed by the story but my opinions have, like the storyline, evolved. The acting, especially Merle Dandridge (Alyx Vance) and Robert Guillaume (Doctor Eli Vance - my favourite!), is superb and the plot points shocking enough to fill you with genuine emotion. Facial animation has improved and emotion is readily apparent on each of the carefully crafted characters features. There's a sort of Lost-esque spin to the storyline (Episode Two even has a few homages to Lost) in that we're presented with more questions then we get answers (or the answers just form new questions). Some hate this type of story telling but I love it because it keeps you engaged and talking about the game and it also guarantees Valve a sale on Episode Three if it's true when they say we'll get all the answers there. You watch the next episode of Lost because you want answers to the cliffhanger from the previous episode so when you're confronted with what happens at the end of Episode Two there will be few people who don't want to 'Finish the Fight'.

God, I do babble on don't I?

That Valve took so long to put the second episode out was disappointing to say the least but you can see they used that time extremely wisely. Even though the game can be beat in seven hours you can bet you'll have an awful lot of fun in those few hours and the storyline will keep you hooked enough to finish it either way. Superb!

Stupid News of The Day!

Or rather it's my attempt to actually post something this week and not actually spend a great deal amount of time writing. Yes, I've been a bad blogger but university work and...um...Team Fortress 2 (it works now) must come first sometimes!

Rockstar are supposedly pissed at the 'Grand Theft Scratchy' section in the upcoming The Simpsons game.

"I was always under the impression that when you do parody, it's a sign of respect... If we make fun of Grand Theft Auto, we're not going to hurt the sales of Grand Theft Auto... But yeah, we've definitely had some reactions - we've had to pull stuff from the game", The Simpsons lead designer Greg Rizzer revealed to us in an interview earlier this week. - CVG

Isn't Rockstar being a bit hypocritical here? The GTA series makes parodies of everything but when it comes to someone making a parody of their game it's not allowed? Also I was under the impression that parody is legal in the USA.

It's probably just some lawyer who doesn't know much about the content of either game but, still, it's the principle of it all. Won't somebody please think of the children?

EA upsets games companies with The Simpsons - CVG (Via Kotaku)