Putting the Fun Back into Cyber Warfare

Sometimes it is good to read publications outside the usual IT & Technology realm that we often tend to focus on. In the issue of the NewStatesman for the week 4th to 10th May PhD candidate at the Royal Holloway, University of London, Andreas Haggman introduces the reader in his article "Why so serious? Introducing a fun take on cyber war" to a new kind of digital war gaming he has come up with to enhance and improve understanding around cyber warfare and how it is conducted, raising awareness and getting people not usually involved with the subject to think about the many dimensions and fronts that cyber war can be affecting.

Fallout 4 Revealed at E4 2015: Trailer. How About Linux Support?

E4 2015 revealed a game I've long been waiting for - FALLOUT 4! I don't play much these days due to time constraints, the last really new one I played was Fallout NV when it came out, plus trying to catch up with the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series (still only half way through the first one, but playing them backwards, so had finished Call of Pripyat and Clear Skies previously). A much belated impression of the original Shadow of Chernobyl will eventually turn up here one day.

More Games for the Holiday Season

After checking out the Duke Nukem 3d give away I came across more offers on GOG.com, which is undoubtedly the intention. ArmA2 with Operation Arrowhead add-on, together called Combined Operations, is a necessity for playing the DayZ simulation zombie mod that's taken off big time. I've only watched a couple of game play videos so far but it looks real good. It's half price at $14.99 which is an acceptable starting point in my book.

Holiday Gift: Duke Nukem 3D (Win+Mac)

Duke Nukem 3d for PC & Mac is free to download until Friday 14.59pm. PC obviously means Windows executable here but check out eduke32, a modified game engine that will let you play it on Linux. You need to sign up for an account but just use a disposable email as you can download the game straight away without confirming the address. Thanks to Edward Koenig for the tip. Oh yes, and you get some cool artwork and ringtones, too.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky - Late Verdict

Last year I wrote an article very much extolling what a great game the last in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series 'Call of Pripyat' was. Balanced, well-thought out game play, great graphics and so on. Like so many teenage and not any longer so teenage boys I absolutely love post-apocalyptic games and movies and this series falls right in there.

Gaming Fun - S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat

Well, I haven't been around lately due to playing the awesome S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat and plenty of other commitments. Finally, the world of work and further education is back and keeping me busy, so we can hopefully afford a nice holiday at the end of the year without dipping into our savings.

Gaming on Linux, Better Than You Would Think

Gaming on GNU/Linux is still getting a bad rap. Obviously there aren't as many titles to choose from and you'll be hard pressed to go into your local Game and find Linux support advertised on the jewel case. However, no big deal. There are plenty of games out there that will keep you busy, and how much can one person play, honestly, unless you're unemployed and up 24/7 living on coffee and coke, and still have mum to do your laundry?

New Aliens Game by Gearbox Scheduled for Spring 2012

While on the subject of new and long awaited games coming out I came across this trailer for the new Aliens: Colonial Marines which will according to the Publisher be available spring 2012 on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.

No More Duke Nukem Forever Jokes

It's here! After 12 years of development, or rather delays, Duke Nukem Forever will hit the stores 10th June. So they say. Believe it when you see it, but it looks like sadly, no more Duke Nukem Forever jokes.

Halo Reach video on BBC 'Click'

The BBC has quite a good technology program in my opinion, and it´s called 'Click'. I watch it every Sunday if I can. There´s a cool video on the site for Halo Reach. Just a shame it´s not made to run native in Linux, once again. I like First Person Shooters anyway, and enjoyed watching it, even though I´m not even really a Halo fan.

More of the Thief universe and the DarkMod, a modification for DooM 3 that allows to build Thief-style fan missions. More on that later. It will still be a while until Thief4 is out, or whatever it will be called then. Just hope they're going to take the time to make it a decent one, not a rush job like Thief 3 Deadly Shadows was and in a sense Thief 2 The Metal Age as well, although infinitely better. It begs the question though whether the industry can still come up with decent game play and an innovative story in this day and age, or if ever more realistic look and eye candy take up too many resources, together with the fact that most are now done for consoles and the PC at the same time, forcing a common denominator. Perhaps the golden age of gaming is behind us. I loved Fallout 3 and this year's version of Alien vs Predator, but at least the last one was a rehash with better graphics, and while being a great game with some improvements on the 1999 one, the older one also felt better in some ways, particularly faster.

So I'm expecting a mixed picture for the future, with most games not worth it for the oldtimer, and some gems.
It's better for the kids, they will not have the feeling, yet, that they've played it all before, only in a different setting and a couple new weapons and features.