icarus

Icarus-X has some great features going for it as a shoot-'em-up: touch-based controls, 3D backgrounds, intense techno stage music, and, of course, hectic fast-paced bullet-hell gameplay. Users must take out waves of enemy planes and alien ships that throw everything from spiraling bullet patterns to kamikaze attacks while staying alive. It's the same shooting recipe we've grown up to love, captured in a portable form. And while all this sounds great on paper, Icarus-X is not without its flaws. But let's start with the positive points.

Icarus-X is impressive in the graphics department among titles released … Read more

If you were following along with our live blog this morning, you know the big news: the Nintendo 3DS is coming March 27 for $250. But what about the games? A dozen or so titles were ready for some hands-on action this afternoon, and we got a chance to play the majority of them. Nintendo also showed us some of the built-in software that'll be on every 3DS, including the Mii Maker and AR Games.

The following titles will see launch-day or launch-window releases, between March 27 and E3 2011, according to Nintendo President Reggie Fils-Aime.

Mii Maker Miis are coming to the 3DS, and the Mii Maker app is preinstalled to allow for their creation. Better yet, the front-facing camera can be used in tandem to help make the process a bit more accurate. When we tried it out, the resulting Mii was a bit insulting, but after a few minor tweaks it actually did resemble our photo. Creating Miis from scratch is just like the Wii experience we're all used to.

AR Games AR Games (augmented reality games) will use a Nintendo playing card to manipulate the world through the 3DS' cameras. We had some time with a simple target-shooting game, and the effect is pretty impressive. Even better, the game requires the player to move around the virtual play space as well, adding a whole new dimension to the experience.

Steel Diver Once a tech demo, Steel Diver is getting the full game treatment at launch on the 3DS. Players control a submarine by using touch sliders that control height and acceleration. Torpedos can also be fired at oncoming obstacles, but the section of the game we played focused more on avoiding colliding with the ocean floor.

Kid Icarus Uprising After about 10 minutes with Kid Icarus Uprising--the very game Nintendo debuted the 3DS with at E3 2010--we're anticipating that the control scheme might be this title's biggest hurdle. We played two parts, one that felt like an on-rails shooter, the other a sort of modified third-person action segment.… Read more

After years of keeping quiet, developer Irrational Games--the crew behind the original BioShock--held a mysterious event at New York City's Plaza Hotel last night to announce the company's latest endeavor, only known up until now as Project Icarus.

Ken Levine, creative director at Irrational Games, took the stage and rolled a trailer (see right) showcasing Columbia, a gorgeous city in the sky flanked by American flags, skyscrapers held up by gigantic hot-air balloons, and gruesome bionic creatures that immediately made us think of BioShock's Big Daddies.

It wasn't long before we began seeing more reminders of Rapture: billboard propaganda, superhuman powers, and utter chaos. With the trailer complete and the lights up, Levine announced that Irrational's next game would be BioShock Infinite.

BioShock Infinite takes the franchise out from the ocean floor and launches it above the clouds. The original BioShock's Rapture dealt with a mysterious utopian city that crumbles under its own obsession with power; BioShock Infinite will play on the ultrapatriotic--albeit ultimately ignorant--American ideals of the early 1900s. Columbia differs from Rapture because the public is aware of its existence. We hop into the game just as Columbia has disappeared into the heavens and out of the public eye, just as this city--once a great feat of American ingenuity and strength--is experiencing its downfall.

Levine compared Columbia to a theoretical "moon landing of 1900--an expression of American genius designed to demonstrate to the world by example the founding democratic principles of the United States...however, what started out as the Apollo Project became the Death Star. The city, which turns out to be armed to the teeth, goes off-mission, becomes embroiled in a violent international incident...and promptly disappears behind the clouds."

Is BioShock Infinite in the same universe as the original? When exactly does it take place? Who do you play as? When will the game come out? We got to sit down with Tim Gerritsen, director of product development at Irrational Games, who filled us in on some more details.… Read more

What would you have said if someone told you pre-E3 that Microsoft would do its best to mimic Nintendo, whereas Nintendo would act like Microsoft? It certainly seemed like the companies flip-flopped at their respective E3 press conferences. Though the 360 spent a great deal of focus on motion control and the Kinect, Nintendo didn't breathe a word about health, motion, or the Wii Fit at its E3 briefing on Tuesday.

Instead, the company's games were the real focus, especially retro franchises: those folks hoping for years for a taste of old Nintendo games certainly had a field day. StarFox, F-Zero, and Pikmin remain undisclosed (Update: Though not discussed at the press briefing, StarFox 64 3D was announced for the 3DS), but Nintendo did unveil new Kirby, Donkey Kong, and Kid Icarus titles, along with detailed gameplay from the next Wii Zelda.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword: Demonstrated for nearly half an hour, the Nintendo flagship sequel will feature Wii MotionPlus support for more-accurate weapon and item actions. The rest of the story remains a mystery, but the game has a more cel-shaded look than Twilight Princess. It arrives in 2011.

Wii Sports Mix: In a very smart move, Nintendo is creating a Mario compilation sports game with what appear to be soccer, hockey, dodgeball, basketball, and volleyball. This could be a real surprise hit, and it's a nicer idea than infinite "Mario X" sports games.

Wii Party: Nintendo's "bridge" game, the next in the "Wii" series, features Miis in a game that looks a lot like an updated Mario Party. Board games, minigames, and group casual play seem like the focus. … Read more

What do you get when you mix Al Gore, global warming, whacky environmentalists, skyrocketing oil prices, lots of venture funding, and irrational exuberance? An alternative-energy bubble.

What, you don't believe that there's an alternative-energy bubble? Then you're just not paying attention. It may not be the biggest bubble in the history of technology--yet. And it may not be ready to burst--yet. But it's a bubble, all right. All the signs are there.

In solar energy alone, hundreds of millions of dollars of venture funds have been poured into the likes of Nanosolar, SoloPower, OptiSolar, HelioVolt, eSolar, SolFocus, Solel, Miasole, GreenVolts, Hydro Green, Infinia, Sopogy, Cyrium, SkyFuel, BrightSource Energy--the list goes on and on.

All the usual suspects are in the game: big-name venture capital firms, investment banks, private-equity firms, energy companies, technology companies, individual investors, a new batch of investment companies focused primarily on energy, and even a hedge fund or two.

There are lots of recognizable names, as well, including Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Microsoft founder Paul Allen, and Sun Microsystems founder and ex-Kleiner Perkins partner Vinod Khosla.… Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif.--I'm down at the Virtual Worlds conference here, and one of the most interesting things I've noticed is that everyone is trying to differentiate themselves from Second Life.

It actually makes sense. The attendees of this conference are largely people who are only recently coming to the concept of virtual worlds, and if there's one everyone's heard of, it's Second Life.

So, this differentiation is happening in two ways.

First, in panels, like the one I'm sitting in right now, titled "Blurring the lines between virtual and real worlds," … Read more