Crave

Doom Classic brings the ancient, pixelated first-person shooter to the iPhone.

Welcome to today's episode of Recycling Old PC Games for Fun and Profit. Our first contestant: Doom Classic, the first-person shooter that spawned a thousand imitators, several hundred ports, and one horrendous movie.

Next up: Command & Conquer Red Alert, the real-time strategy classic responsible for a massive drop in global productivity.

In my youth I was a tremendous fan of both games, so it stands to reason that I'd welcome them to my iPhone. However, neither is getting a permanent home.

Let's start with Doom. While id Software's official port offers a pixel-perfect recreation, the game is 16 years old--and it shows.

Indeed, juxtaposed with Doom Resurrection, a made-for-iPhone game with 21st century graphics, Doom Classic looks positively ancient. It plays that way, too: You can't even jump.

Part of this is personal bias: I don't think FPS games work well on small screens, especially when touch controls are involved. For me, Doom Classic feels cramped, confined, and seriously out of date.

(Credit: Steam)

Have any plans for the weekend? Yeah, I'm talking to you. If not, here's a suggestion: how's about some online Capture-the-Flag action (or Deathmatch action, whatever floats your boat) on Unreal Tournament III Black. Oh, and it's free. OK, so it's for the PC only and doesn't apply to the PlayStation 3, but it's still a pretty cool deal and it's something to do.

Whether or not you have the game, it's all good. The free weekend includes the game, the Titan Pack expansion, and the 2.0 patch. Now, all you have to do is sign up for a Steam account, which is also free, and you are good to go.

After the entire weekend hullabaloo dies down, Unreal Tournament III Black will be available on Steam at a 40 percent discount, costing around 12 bucks, and will remain so, right up until March 15.

In the meantime, go frag some people online tonight. Go ahead. Frag the hell outta them. (There are more than a few screenshots of the game below.)

Unreal Tournament III Black

D-Box's FPS vest will be compatible with Call of Duty 2, among other games.

(Credit: Activision)

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 blows will feel no more painful than a friendly pat.

There's a list of games, like Call of Duty 2, that the vest is compatible with. The availability date isn't firm yet, but for now we know the unit should retail for around $315 when it hits the Singapore market.

(Via Crave Asia)

(Credit: Crave UK)

Modern games not immersive enough for you? You might want to consider getting the 3rd Space FPS Gaming Vest, which promises to blast you into the action in ways you might never have imagined. Sort of.

Here's how it works: You strap on the vest, connect it to your PC via USB, and to a compressor unit via an air tube. Fire up a compatible game (Call of Duty 2 is bundled), get shot, and the drivers will send a message to the compressor to fire a blast of air down the tube, and into a set of air bags inside the vest. The effect is supposed to be akin to getting shot.

In truth, it's nothing like getting shot--trust us, we work in South East London, so we know. There's no incredible shocking impact, no feeling like a bomb's just gone off in your chest, and no blood spurts. It's more like being gently prodded. Plus, if you get prodded loads of times in a row, the compressor runs out of air and has to refill itself.

Having said that, it does add a degree of involvement, like a much bigger version of the vibrating controller. We're not sure whether it's worth the money149 pounds (about $297), but if you've got the cash and you want to take your games to the next level, head over to IWantOneOfThose.com and get involved. But don't forget to check our photos first.

(Source: Crave UK)

(Credit: id Software)

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 of PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

(Credit: Gizmodo)

As any CrackBerry addict will tell you, it's all in the thumbs. And that basic rule of dexterity applies to game controllers too, which is why the creation of something like the "FPS Freek" was probably inevitable.

KontrolFreek's latest accessory snaps onto the thumbsticks of a controller to improve accuracy and provide a crucial competitive edge. This nuance is particularly important in muscle control while taking aim at targets, according to Gizmodo, which sites research indicating that "the first 20 percent of the range of motion is the hardest because of spring resistance." (The things you learn reading gadget blogs.)

The manufacturer says the device, which it hopes to release in June, will even be allowed in official competition. And if it proves as popular as hoped, there's another company that will likely benefit from the release: The maker of the "Xtensor."

(Credit: TMgames)

Gadget thrill-seekers have a choice: They can either subject themselves to electrode torture as our colleague Michael Kanellos gleefully does at every opportunity, or they can try something like the virtual-reality "FPS Vest" instead.

There's good news if you should choose the latter because TMgames, which was only taking pre-orders last fall, is now selling the vest as part of a package that includes Call of Duty and 3rd Space Incursion bundled with it, according to Gadget Review. The force-feedback game vest, which was initially developed by a physician for medical research, has eight zones that supposedly simulate the sensations of gunshots, explosions, and "fear-inducing finger taps."

But don't expect too much. It probably doesn't approach the shock and awe of the Nerf Wii Blaster.

(Thanks for the tip, Christen)

This ain't your grandma's SpeedPad.

(Credit: Belkin)

Belkin has announced the successor to the n52 SpeedPad, the n52te. What does the "te" stand for, you ask? Tournament Edition. This professional-grade SpeedPad promises to improve your response time in PC games like first-person shooters, real-time strategy games, and MMORPGs.

Teaming up with elite gaming peripheral manufacturer Razer, the n52te carries with it a customizable software suite allowing players to completely modify their gaming experience. The device will support multiple player profiles in addition to Razer Synapse onboard memory, which allows for plug-and-play functionality without the need to install additional software wherever you take it. Also new to the SpeedPad is a fully backlit keyboard and scroll wheel.

In celebration of the n52te release, Belkin has launched a monthlong contest where gamers submit their best frag sessions caught on tape. The "Proud to PWN" submission deadline is November 4, where the 50 best videos will be awarded a new n52te. Check out www.playtopwn.com for all contest details.

The n52te is scheduled for a November 2007 release and will retail for $70.

Five years ago, the U.S. Army launched America's Army, a free first-person-shooter (FPS) computer game based on the Army itself. It received solid reviews, and has been through multiple permutations, including retail versions for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. A new Xbox 360 America's Army game, True Soldiers, ships later this fall.

The Army is now bringing its video game series out of the PC and console and to virtual reality with the Virtual Army Experience. America's Army: VAE is a traveling exhibit presented by the U.S. Army that lets people get a dose of VR combat through the America's Army: Special Forces (Overmatch) video game. At Digital Life, I got a chance to try the Virtual Army Experience for myself.

The virtual reality game consists of a handful of mock-up military vehicles and a set of several large projection screens. After a short mission briefing (go into enemy territory, get a captured terrorist with valuable information, and leave), the game's participants and I got into the vehicles and manned mock-up M-240 machine gun mounts. I sat in the roof turret of a Humvee, with a gun mounted on a huge, circular rail that let it slide and swivel back and forth. When everyone got settled in, the mission began.

Like a giant light-gun arcade game, the experience consisted mostly on training my fake gun on terrorists and enemy vehicles and blowing them up to the best of my ability. The fake M-240 produced satisfying kickback, rattling and shaking in my hand thanks to pressurized air. The Humvee itself also shook as it absorbed virtual rockets and IEDs. I had fun, sliding and spinning back and forth, training my gun on enemy targets and trying to gun them down before they could fire on us. We drove through the simulated landscape, picking off terrorists and protecting fellow soldiers' rides until we reached the end of the game. The screens flashed large "Mission Accomplished" logos and we all shuffled out into another trailer for "debriefing".

America's Army: True Soldiers (Xbox 360)

The "debriefing" consisted of a short recruitment video and the highest-scoring participant receiving an action figure of Sgt. Tommy Rieman, one of four real soldiers in the America's Army Real Heroes program and upon which a line of action figures are being based. Everyone also received a lanyard and a copy of America's Army: Special Forces (Overmatch), the PC game version of the virtual reality game. Finally, Sgt. Rieman himself, one of the consultants for the game, showed up to talk to the players.

I had fun during the intense but short experience. It felt surprisingly real, with the gun and Humvee shaking and rocking wildly as I shot at terrorists on a huge screen. Unfortunately, it didn't really present the same level of risk most video games offer. As far as I could tell, nobody in the simulation died or got hurt. Sure, bullets flew and bombs exploded, but nobody lost a life and had to respawn, or any other of the typical game conventions you'd expect from an FPS or a light-gun game. It was like I was playing through an Army mission in god mode.

America's Army: Virtual Army Experience will be touring through California, Texas, and Florida until November. America's Army: True Soldiers will be hitting the Xbox 360 later this season with a retail price of about $60. America's Army: Real Heroes action figures based on Sgt. Tommy Rieman, Maj. Jason Amerine, SFC Gerald Wolford, and SSG Matthew Zedwik are currently available for about $10. If you can't find them at a toy store near you, you can order them online from the figures' manufacturer, Jazwares. (Thanks to Slanderpanic for this find.)