shooters

'Quake Live': Productivity-destroying Web game

Set the wayback machine for 1999/2000, and you'll find a lot of Gen-X office workers doing the same thing I was back then--wasting hour upon hour of company time playing "Quake III" (or "Unreal Tournament II") with my office mates. (At least in my case, there were extenuating circumstances: I was covering the video game beat at pop-culture Web site UGO.com at the time).

In the years since then, first-person shooters have come to require the kind of dedicated hardware that virtually no office workers have, effectively eliminating the daily fragfest that was … Read more

Step right up and test your aim!

Duck Shoot is a fun, free app that simulates a classic carnival duck-shooting booth. In this simple game, you tilt your iPhone or iPod Touch to move your gun's crosshairs and tap the screen to shoot, as duck targets randomly flip up into view. You're trying to shoot as many ducks as you can in the allotted 45 seconds--and to shoot additional targets within three seconds to score bonus points. The gameplay in Duck Shoot is extremely straightforward, but the game's double-bonus blue ducks and penalty cute-baby targets add to its replay value. Duck Shoot's challenging, … Read more

Rumor: 'Left 4 Dead' coming to PlayStation 3

The news seems to be getting better and better for the PlayStation 3 in terms of game titles in 2009. Possibly joining the list of games is the popular Xbox/PC zombie shooter Left 4 Dead.

EA is known for releasing game titles on multiple platforms; however, some would say that this is just wishful thinking. With that being said, you make the call. HMV has a link where you can preorder for a June 5, 2009 release.

Whether this is fact or fiction remains to be seen. I guess we will just have to wait until June to find … Read more

'Brothers in Arms: Hour of Heroes' storms App Store

When Apple finally announced the App Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch, the door was opened to many possibilities. With its huge library of applications, the one thing that seemed to be missing was a World War II shooter. I'm sure many keen minds tried to bring a real game experience to this portable device, but a good control scheme is essential for a real gaming feel. Because of its lack of buttons, this posed a problem until now. On December 2, Gameloft's Brothers in Arms: Hour of Heroes landed in Apple's App Store.

This is the first WWII shooter to debut in the App Store; it also captures all the action from the Brother in Arms franchise and brings it to your iPhone.

13 missions in across 3 historical campaigns: Normandy, Ardennes & Tunisia Impressive 3D graphics and crisp clear audio The capability to command Jeeps and Sherman tanks to help advance the Allied forces across the battlefield A wide range of weapons at your side (bazooka, sniper rifle, machine guns, and so on) Use of the iPhone's accelerometer controls to launch grenades and the touch screen to aim at and shoot enemies

This game (check out the video below) will definitely make your morning commute seem a lot quicker.… Read more

Gamers, prepare to join the 'Secret Service'

It's been interesting to hear Sarah Palin, the Republican VP nominee, accusing Barack Obama of "palling around with terrorists"--a huge distraction, in my opinion, from the economic crisis and other pressing issues. If that's not the kind of distraction you enjoy, I have another that might prove more fun.

Activision announced Friday that its new first-person shooter Secret Service will be released later this year for three platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, and the PC. The title will let players assume the role of an elite agent tasked with protecting America's top leadership under … Read more

Feel the blows while gaming

Being a virtual soldier is easy. After all, getting shot and killed is no more annoying than having to reload the last save file or man a checkpoint. But for the truly hardcore, D-Box will distribute a special first-person-shooter vest that will let gamers feel each shot as it lands. (D-Box is also the distributor of motion gaming chairs like the GP-200.)

Like the 3rd Space FPS Gaming Vest before it, this product works on the principle of air pressure. Four pads on the front and two behind will simulate shots to the body. Thankfully, a D-Box representative said the … Read more

The 404 150: Where Justin apologizes profusely to Sarah Tew

We finally get CNET photographer Sarah Tew into The 404 lair and I screw it all up in the preshow. 'Twas totally unintentional, Ms. Tew, I promise! Ahh, this big, dumb mouth of mine. Anyway, Sarah was dragged in by Corinne Shulze, another CNET shooter visiting from the City by the Bay. In nothing short of a miracle, they still agree to do the show and we get right into it.

Wait, not quite...we have to talk about medical ailments and weekend buffoonery, right? Corinne tells us about her fight with a MUNI rail (you should've seen the … Read more

Prepare to be 'Doom'-ed for the fourth time

After Doom 3's less-than-stellar reception from the gaming world, it was safe to say that the franchise that changed gaming forever would be put to sleep. However, word from Slashdot says that id Software is very much into production on Doom 4. In fact, the award-winning developer is looking for some help:

We are looking for talented, ambitious, and passionate individuals eager to join our accomplished team of developers working on the industry's most innovative and anticipated games.

No word yet on which platforms we'll see Doom 4 on, but our money is on the usual threesome … Read more

Bioshocked: Demo pops up on Xbox Live marketplace without warning

A demo for one of the most hyped games of the year showed up on the Xbox Live marketplace Sunday night to the surprise of many.

The demo features a tweaked version of the first 45 minutes of the game, allowing players to experience more weapons than what you'd normally start out with.

Xbox Live immediately suffered massive slowdowns as word quickly spread about the chance to take a sneak peak at what is sure to be one of the best games of 2007. There has been no word on whether or not PC fans can get a taste … Read more

BrickShooter (iPhone App)

Shoot colored bricks into the center of the screen to create groups of three in this iPhone game. With the ability to choose bricks from all sides of the screen, you'll quickly realize it takes a carefully planned strategy to clear the board. There are several levels of difficulty, and no time limit.

iPhone link: http://www.brickshooter.com/online/?iphone

Web site link http://www.brickshooter.com