Latest Posts

• Aural Kaoss

   

  (Due to space constraints in the latest issue of PLAYed, half of my CES blurb didn't make the cut, so I'm posting it here with bonus multimedia content.)

  Staring in awe at 105" HDTV screens usually makes up a large part of my CES experience. And with new sets touting a billion-to-one contrast ratios and really absurd 3D goggles, I thought for sure I'd be bloodshot and over-stimulated once again at the Samsung, Pioneer, and Panasonic booths; but instead, this year brought a couple of aural surprises that let my ears enjoy the CES festivities as well. Hit the jump for the audio goodness.

  
   

• Un-Dead Bringing Next-Gen AI To Life

   

  I've never really been a big zombie fan; I haven't seen most of the undead horror flicks or read up on the apocalypse survival guides. Exposure to Jacko's "Thriller" video at a tender age (awkward) probably influenced my disdain for brain-eaters' media, though it's also probably one of the reasons why my latest gaming obsession has taken over like the zombie need to feed. Left4Dead (L4D), developed by industry visionary Gabe Newell and his crew at Valve, is a four-player cooperative action title casting you and 3 of your friends as the remaining 'survivors' battling to outlast the relentless zombie hordes through four distinct scenarios. The most absurd part, aside from shotgunning zombies in the face and saving your comrades from becoming brain stew, is the fact that your play-through experience will never be the same twice thanks to Valve's ingeniously evil creation, "Director AI" through procedural narrative.
  
  Reload your shotgun and hit the jump to read on.