battlefield

First-person combat and true-to-life racing: iPhone apps of the week

This week, over at our Signal Strength blog, Maggie Reardon answered questions from readers regarding the upcoming Verizon iPhone. The article is not about the iPhone specifically, but about how a mass exodus from AT&T to Verizon might effect both carriers.

I got the iPhone 4 when it was launched, knowing that I would have to stick with AT&T for two years, but obviously, I had little choice as an iPhone app reviewer. Like many who got the iPhone 4 near launch day, I was sad to hear later that I missed the chance to get an iPhone with Verizon, which many say has the best network. But Maggie has an interesting point: With a mass exodus from AT&T, it will probably mean that those stuck in contracts will experience significantly better signal strength with a lot less users clogging up the network. Also, current Verizon customers have to wonder just how much a huge influx of iPhone users will effect the historically strong Verizon network.

I suppose we'll have to wait and see what effects a Verizon iPhone will have on each carrier, but you have to admit it's heartening to hear that AT&T users might be getting better service as a result of the Verizon iPhone. Hopefully both carriers will benefit from the change so all of us finally get good connection speeds.

This week's apps include the sequel to one of the best racing games for iPhone and the debut of an FPS game formerly only available on desktop computers and consoles.… Read more

Battlefield: Bad Company 2--the good, the bad, and the ugly

Military-based action games have become the first-person-shooter staple thanks to franchises like Call of Duty. We've seen attempts to capture the same experience before, but Battlefield: Bad Company seems to do the best job at tackling the genre with its own take on things.

We've been playing Bad Company 2 for a while now and enjoy some things, but dislike others. Does it have a leg to stand on, or does it rely on too many elements that Modern Warfare 2 has seemingly perfected?

Dan: As a potential rival to the juggernaut that is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the equally awkwardly named Battlefield: Bad Company 2 certainly looks the part. It has a collection of multiplayer games, a semi-throwaway single-player campaign, and the long-standing provenance that comes from being an offshoot of a well-liked classic game series.

And, in fact, this buzz-heavy shooter is very well-made and has much that catches our attention. It's main claim to fame is wildly destructible environments, which is a press-release-like way of saying many of the actual buildings and structures in the game can be brought down by rockets, bombs, and other high-powered attacks.

Certainly that destruction mechanic was engaging enough to keep us roped into a single-player campaign that started off strong with a gripping WWII raid, but soon fell into shopworn cliche (and unlike the similarly cliched Modern Warfare 2, it lacked the frenetic energy to keep us from asking too many questions)--at least for a few hours.

But the main attraction is the online multiplayer, and on this count, the game both hits and misses. The ability to bring a building tumbling down on someone's head makes for battles that feel different almost every time, and the mission types stay far away from the typical team death match shootouts, making this a a must-try for fans of military first-person shooters. … Read more

preGAME 04: Battlefield: Bad Company 2

This week on preGAME, hosts Jeff Bakalar and Mark Licea take a sneak peek at the online multiplayer component of Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Watch as Mark hops into a game on Xbox Live during the show!

But before we get into the live game demo, we'll discuss the new downloadable content (DLC) for some very notable titles. Resident Evil 5, Borderlands, and BioShock 2 all have extra content coming your way, so tune in to see when they'll each be available and how much they'll cost. This news story leads us to our featured discussion of the week: whether or not DLC is here to stay. We'll touch on the good, the bad, and the annoying.

All this plus a DICE 2010 awards recap and all of the week's top headlines and releases on preGAME!

Want to be a part of our live taping? Make sure you head to http://cnet.com/live/pregame every Tuesday at 4 p.m. Eastern. If you missed any of the stories we talk about on today's preGAME, make sure to check out our links below.

DICE awards wrap-up Next Call of Duty game to take place during Cold War? Sony files patent for universal game controller Is Project Natal laggy?… Read more

BEAR robot roars to the rescue

While unmanned air vehicles are putting pilots out of business, a new U.S. Army-funded robot could do the same for rescuers and stevedores.

The humanoid BEAR (Battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot) can locate victims in a mine shaft, battlefield, toxic spill, or earthquake-damaged structure. And then it can lift them up and then carry them over long distances to safety, according to the manufacturer Vecna Robotics. And it does this without risking any more lives (PDF).

The challenge was to enhance search and rescue while reducing the time military, police, and emergency response personnel have to risk their lives each day. … Read more

Q&A: Robotics engineer aims to give robots a humane touch

Can robots be more humane than humans in fighting wars? Robotics engineer Ronald Arkin of the Georgia Institute of Technology believes this is a not-too-distant possibility. He has just finished a three-year contract with the U.S. Army designing software to create ethical robots.

As robots are increasingly being used by the U.S. military, Arkin has devoted his lifework to configuring robots with a built-in "guilt system" that eventually could make them better at avoiding civilian casualties than human soldiers. These military robots would be embedded with internationally prescribed laws of war and rules of engagement, such … Read more

U.S. military enlists iPod Touch for battlefield

Updated at 1:25 p.m. PDT to clarify that apps being developed for iPhone as well.

The hottest new battlefield weapon in Baghdad is also a hot item on the home front.

Apple's iPod Touch is proving to be a valuable tool to members of the U.S. military, according to a report in Newsweek.

The report notes that the iPod performs many functions in this time of "networked warfare," enabling soldiers to be linked with other soldiers, as well as intelligence resources, such as aerial images from drones and translation software.

Soldiers can use applications … Read more

WiiWare and Virtual Console releases for this week

This week brings us the first horror/puzzle game we've heard of and a military simulator from the Sega Genesis era. WiiWare Lit (WayForward Technologies, 800 Wii points): We can't say that we've ever seen a horror-themed puzzle game before, but we're sure glad the two genres have met up on WiiWare. Explore 30 levels as you try to save your girlfriend from the dark creatures that have separated you. Virtual Console Wolf of the Battlefield: MERCS (Sega Genesis, 800 Wii points): MERCS provides classic arcade military combat action with two different game modes and five … Read more

Stethoscope for the battlefield

The battlefield medic is a staple of war movies, but rarely depicted is one challenge that goes beyond dodging bullets: noise.

U.S. Army acoustical engineers have developed a new stethoscope that can outperform its electronic predecessors by detecting a human heartbeat in intensely noisy environments, such as inside a military helicopter, according to LiveScience. Unlike others before it, the new stethoscope has a special head that can generate ultrasound waves, or sound frequencies that can cancel out external noises as high as 120 decibels.

Background noise on ambulances, helicopters or within crowds typically render electronic and traditional stethoscopes useless. … Read more