soldier

Defend against the assault

Air Assault is a relatively unremarkable arcade game in which you fight "invading Russian/Afghanistan forces" in Afghanistan with "Anti-Air and Mortal" (presumably "mortar") guns.

Every game begins with a slowly scrolling text introduction set to "Flight of the Valkyries," which you can thankfully skip. It outlines a muddled, quasi-historical backdrop with dubious references to "September 11" and Operation Enduring Freedom (which isn't helped by later appearances of apparent suicide bombers and oil-production fields, something that Afghanistan is not particularly known for). The game's wide-screen interface has you … Read more

U.S. Naval Research: Gamers make better soldiers

The U.S. Office of Naval Research has found that when it comes to fighting wars around the world, gamers are more capable at taking on the enemy than nongamers.

According to Ray Perez, a program officer in the ONR's warfighter performance department who discussed the findings in the Pentagon Web Radio Webcast, gamers perform "10 [percent] to 20 percent higher, in terms of perceptual and cognitive ability, than normal people that are non-game players."

Perez went on to say that his office has found that video games "increase perpetual abilities and short-term memory." Games … Read more

Second Life for returning veterans

Veterans are often reluctant to seek therapy for service-related conditions, but rather than write them off, scientists are creating a virtual online community where servicemembers can find the camaraderie and resources to ease their return to civilian life.

The "Transitional Online Post-deployment Soldier Support in Virtual Worlds" created by the University of Southern California's Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT) will be ensconced within a corner of the virtual landscape of Second Life, a popular online 3D grid where people interact through avatars (PDF).

Also known as Coming Home, this world will contain three main areas: one for … Read more

Deadly 'subcompacts' on hold

Crews hoping for more personal fire power when scrambling from a tank hatch or other confined conveyance will be disappointed to learn that the U.S. Army is putting the search for a "subcompact" carbine on hold, according to industry reports.

While searching for a possible alternative to the M4 carbine, the Army had also been looking at a new "personal defense weapon" to give drivers and crews a little more punch than the currently issued Beretta M9 9mm pistol. But that plan has followed the economy, and the military budget, down the drain, according to … Read more

Chechen soldiers' Flinstonian phone charger

Updated at 2:43 p.m. PDT: A couple of keen readers with better engineering backgrounds than us pointed out that the "blue thing" is a generator, not a capacitor. We're sorry our Russian isn't as good as it could be.

Earlier Thursday, we brought you the DIY arcade cabinet, a feat of great ingenuity. But now I find this: a homemade, DIY, dynamo-powered cell phone charger. According to English Russia (one of the greatest sites on the Web,) Chechen soldiers made it to keep their phones charged while stationed in the woods without electricity.

This … Read more

WiiWare and Virtual Console releases for this week

This week brings us another rhythm game for WiiWare along with a pair of Turbografx 16 imports for the Virtual Console.

WiiWare

Groovin' Blocks (Empty Clip Studios, 800 Wii points): Groovin' Blocks is one part puzzler, one part rhythm game where following the beat of a song will help you reach a higher score. Play through up to 27 levels, all with their own beats. Virtual Console

Final Solider (1991, Turbografx 16, 700 Wii points): Final Solider is a top-down shooter released within the Star Solider series. Play through various levels or try your skill at a 2- or 5-minute … Read more

WiiWare and Virtual Console releases for this week

This week WiiWare gets two new additions, while the Virtual Console gets a classic scrolling shooter. Virtual Console

SkyKid (1985, NES, 500 Wii points): SkyKid is a horizontal scrolling shooter that has you battling in the skies in order to save Bird Land--yes that's what it's called. Grab the bombs on each level and drop them on various targets to advance.

WiiWare

Critter Round-Up (Konami, 1,000 Wii points): All the animals have escaped and it's up to you to get them back. The puzzle game includes more than 50 levels with various environments. Star Soldier R (… Read more

Where we can't wait till the year 20X6

EPISODE 83

On today's show we easily solve the Earth's environmental problems. Then we'll talk about what it must be like to get trapped in an elevator for 41 hours and figure out the proper way to say "Mario." It's a Jersey thing. Plus we'll tell you our idea for the ultimate action movie, all on today's 404.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Infantry to lead the way with a new PDA

A collaboration between military R&D and industrial designers is bringing state-of-the-art PDA technology to Joe Snuffy out on the battlefield.

The Soldier Flex PDA (SFPDA) introduced by Inhand Electronics features flexible display technology with input from industrial design firm Artisent, display technology firm E-Ink and the U.S. Army Flexible Display Center at Arizona State University.

The PDA offers InHand's PXA270-based Fingertip4 CPU board, along with Ethernet, USB, Bluetooth and keypad interfaces all in a "ruggedized" glass-free package that weighs less than a pound. Best of all, the unique low-power characteristics of electronic paper displays … Read more